Former Manchester United bidder Sheikh Jassim is set to engage Manchester United in a dragging legal tussle after he fell out of the race to take over the club, MySportDab reports.
After a dragging takeover saga that lasted for nine months, Sheikh Jassim finally decided to pull the plug in October 2023 when it was evident he has been outran by his competitor Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The Qatari investors’ withdrawal followed an apparent difficult relationship with the Glazers during the takeover process.
The Glazers had pecked Man United’s value at £6bn, and were reportedly open to a total or partial sale of the club.
Sheikh Jassim wanted a full over of the club with a £5n offer while his rival Sir Jim Ratcliffe wanted partial ownership with a £1.3bn offer on the table.
At the tail end, Sir Jim Ratcliffe won the bidding race with Sheikh Jassim withdrawing from the race and blasting the Glazers for double standards – using him to raise the value of the club, and selling to a partial bidder.
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Sources close to Sheikh Jassim’s camp revealed the Qatari bidders were unfazed by Glazers, who they believed, did not want to sell the club totally.
On the other hand, the Glazers had explained in their SEC filings that Sheikh Jassim had repeatedly failed to provide proof of payment for his full takeover bid and had failed to meet the £6bn estimated value of the club.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe reportedly echoed a similar sentiment when he was asked about the Glazers after completing his Man United takeover.
The UK billionaire said the Glazers did not exist as nobody was able to meet him.
‘Still, nobody’s ever seen him, actually,’ he said. ‘The Glazers never met him… he never… I’m not sure he exists!’ Sir Jim said.
Now, according to the Athletic, Sheikh Jassim and his legal representatives have written Manchester United asking for immediate ‘corrective measures’ on the club’s statement that he could not provide proof of payment.
They have also complained about Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comment that the Qatari investors did not exist as the comment amounted to a breach of the confidentiality agreement during the sale process.
Sheikh Jassim described Man United and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments as ‘demonstrably false and defamatory comments.’
Manchester United are yet to respond to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.
And it is still unclear whether the Qatari investor provided proof of payment or not as claimed by contradictory reports on how the sale process unfolded.
