UEFA Green Lights Qatar’s Bid For A Complete Takeover Of Manchester United
Sky Sports just announced that Qatari investors with links to the royal family will be making a bid for Premier League team Manchester United. This announcement came in light of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) giving the green for Qatar to bid for a complete takeover of Manchester United.
This step is said to cause some conflict of interest in the Champions League (an elite club competition with top clubs across Europe competing) since Qatar Sports Investments owns League 1 team Paris Saint-Germain, if this step proves successful, then both clubs will be competing in the same competition under the same ownership.
Currently, the only English bidder is British petrochemicals entrepreneur Jim Ratcliffe. To support his potential takeover of the Premier League club, he teamed up with both elite investment banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase.
The Glazers, who are currently in control of Manchester United, are rumored to be seeking a £6 billion sale price for the team, which the New York Stock Exchange currently values at £3.2 billion.
Upon acquisition, Qatar has plans to rebuild Old Trafford (Manchester United’s current Stadium) as well as revolutionize the training ground, which could add another £1.2bn to their initial investment.
