Manchester United takeover: Sheikh Jassim expected to make a second bid within 10 days

Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani will make a second bid for Manchester United within 10 days after his representatives visited the club on Thursday.

He has already made an indicative offer before the soft deadline a month ago – all bidders will be asked to make a second bid in the next 10 days.

Sky Sports News has been told by sources in New York that “there should be no doubt at all that Sheikh Jassim wants to be the owner and custodian of United”.

A Qatari delegation travelled to Manchester from London on the train and received a warm welcome. Talks are said to have been positive and constructive across 10 hours – a lot longer than expected.

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Sheikh Jassim and members of his team have been to Old Trafford as fans before, and the focus of this visit was to get a perspective on what they could do with their capital investment regarding infrastructure, youth development and the women’s team.

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They have been trying to get a better understanding before they make another bid. United will obviously be “selling the dream” to achieve as high a price as possible if the club is sold.

It is too early for Sheikh Jassim to be there in person and he doesn’t just want to go just for a photo opportunity.

He has sent his top team of experts in finance, banking, property and law with the Qataris totally committed and in this to buy the club.

Analysis: Sheikh Jassim will do what it takes to buy Man Utd

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Kaveh Solhekol has the latest news on Manchester United’s potential takeover, and says the Qatari bidders could walk away from the process if the price is not right.

Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:

“Sheikh Jassim made a bid before the soft deadline a month ago. The Glazer family liked that offer enough to say they would go through to the second stage of the process.

“Sheikh Jassim’s representatives have now been to the club’s training ground to meet some of the senior executives and to have a look at what they would actually be buying.

“What they’re going to be told is having seen the facilities, they will be set another 10 days to make another bid. I am very confident they will make that second bid and a source in the US has told me ‘there should be no doubt at all that Sheikh Jassim wants to be the owner and custodian of Manchester United.

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Kaveh Solhekol explains that talks between Manchester United and representatives of Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim have been ‘broadly positive’.

“In the past few weeks, I have been saying that I don’t think that Sheikh Jassim is the sort of person who is going to overpay wildly for the club. That is what I was told.

“But today, I am getting the sense that he will do what it takes to become the club’s new owner. He’s not going to throw money at it but I am getting the feeling that he really, really does want United.

“We don’t know for a fact that Sheikh Jassim’s first bid was £4.5bn – we know the Glazers are looking for a figure of around £6bn and I’d be surprised if Sheikh Jassim was willing to go that high.

“What was happening today at United was there was a very high-powered delegation representing Sheikh Jassim at the club. They got the train up to Manchester from London this morning and the talks were very positive.

“They were looking under the bonnet of what they could buy and get a better understanding before making a second bid. Sometimes, that second bid could be lower having seen what they could buy but I don’t think that will be the case.”

Are there any other bidders we know about?

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Delegations representing Sheikh Jassim Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe will visit Old Trafford and the Manchester United training ground ahead of their proposed bids for the club.

INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe has also made an offer to buy the club.

Ratcliffe, 70, is due to fly in from Nice on Thursday and, barring any travel complications, will attend the presentation by United’s management team alongside INEOS sport representatives.

What the Glazers and the American merchant bankers Raine – who are handling the sale – want is a bidding war. They want to play people off against each other to make sure the club is sold for as much money as possible if it is sold.

We still don’t know 100 per cent that the Glazers definitely want to sell Manchester United.

The only other bidders we know about completely confirmed are Elliott Management, the US hedge fund.

Now, they do not want to buy United, but they are willing to provide financing for interested parties. They were at United for last Thursday’s Europa League game.

How soon could United have new owners?

We should always bear in mind that as far as the Glazers are concerned, if they are to sell United, then they want this done by the time the summer transfer window opens. So we are talking potentially by the end of May.

There are a lot of people out there who think the Glazers do not want to sell Man Utd, what they actually want to do is sell a minority stake, or borrow more money to try and redevelop Old Trafford.

But I just sense that because this information has come out today [Wednesday] that the Qataris will be visiting tomorrow [Thursday] and Sir Jim Ratcliffe is going to be there on Friday – this information could have been kept secret, it did not have to come out and the reason it has come out makes me feel a bit more confident, if that is the right word, that the Glazers do actually want to sell the club.