Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani could be overpaying for Manchester United by up to 2.5 billion pounds ($3.16 billion) if his proposed takeover of the British soccer club is finalized.

Sheikh Jassim, a Qatari banker and son of a former Qatari prime minister, is favorite to acquire the Red Devils, after reports emerged Thursday that the offer by the main rival bidder — British billionaire and CEO of chemicals company INEOS — was “dead in the water.”

Manchester United owners the Glazer family said in November that they were exploring “strategic alternatives” for the club, which included a takeover. The American proprietors have become less popular with some of the fans due what they say is mismanaging the club’s finances and not well-maintaining the club’s Old Trafford home stadium.

The Qatari royal is understood to be offering a full buyout of Manchester United, debt free, for 5.5 million pounds ($6.95 million) that will see the Glazers leave, The Mirror reported Friday. But the English Premier League club is actually worth between 3 billion pounds ($3.8 billion) and 3.4 billion pounds ($4.3 billion), according to the paper. Around 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) of the 5.5 billion pounds is supposedly to clear the debts accrued by the Glazers and invest in local soccer-based projects in the community.

Sheikh Jassim has made the bid through his Nine Two Foundation, which appears to be named after United’s famed 1992 team that won the club’s inaugural Premier League title.  

Although the offer for United by Jim Ratcliffe, the UK’s richest man, values the club higher than Jassim, it is only an offer to buy a majority stake in the club, rather than a full takeover, meaning that the Glazers would still initially retain a 20% stake.

There have been three official rounds of bidding, but the Qatari billionaire increased his offer twice and global soccer media and technology company 90min reported Wednesday that the Qatar Islamic Bank chairman is “growing in confidence” that he will win the race to buy the club.

The sale has reportedly been delayed because of disagreements between the six siblings of the Glazer family, with Avram and Joel said to favor Ratcliffe’s partial takeover, with the others preferring a full sale to Sheikh Jassim.

If Jassim is successful with his bid, it would mark an increase in Middle Eastern ownership in soccer, after the United Arab Emirates’ Sheikh Mansour bought Manchester City in 2008, Qatar Sports Investments bought Paris Saint-Germain in 201 and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund bought Newcastle United in 2021.

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