Manchester United Takeover: Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim confirms bid to buy club

Manchester United FC have received a reported bid of a minimum of £4bn from Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, the chairman of QIB, a Qatari bank.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos group also made a bid before the Friday, 10 pm deadline set by Raine Group, who are organising the possible sale of Manchester United on behalf of the owners—the Glazer family, reported The Guardian. Ratcliffe, Britain's richest man, who grew up supporting the Red Devils as a boy, hinted at his intention to bid for the Old Trafford club last month.

Last November, the Glazer family, who bought Manchester United in 2005, announced that they were putting the club up for sale in a bid to find the best way to "continue building on the club's history of success," as they were exploring "strategic alternatives."

The bid from Sheikh al-Thani came from his Nine Two Foundation. "The bid plans to return the club to its former glories. The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim's Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports," read an official statement from Sheikh al-Thani's foundation."

The statement further read, "The vision of the bid is for Manchester United to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world."

Thani, the son of Qatar's former prime minister, is understood to have become a Manchester United supporter in 1992, which is the reason behind his foundation's name, the Nine Two Foundation. It was in reference to the former Premier League side's Class of 92, the group of homegrown players led by Ryan Giggs and David Beckham who enjoyed magnificent careers in the first team.

Meanwhile, Ratcliffe's Ineos group is yet to release a statement, but the proposal is believed to have emphasised that he would be "a British custodian for the club" and would aim to "put the Manchester back into Manchester United," according to BBC Sport.

The company owned by the Manchester-born billionaire has a history of sports investment as it also owns French Ligue 1 club Nice and Swiss club Lausanne.

Manchester United's last Premier League title came in the 2012-13 season, which also saw the last of the legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson. In addition, the Red Devils have now gone without winning a silverware for five straight seasons.

However, the club's fortunes are appearing to be changing since the arrival of new head coach Erik ten Hag. The Old Trafford club has finally found another visionary manager, who is very much on the course to transforming the side. Manchester United are ahead of rivals Liverpool FC and Chelsea in the title race this season and more importantly, they are just five points behind the top two teams.