Prospective Manchester United owners have until Friday to reveal their interest in purchasing one of the world’s most powerful clubs, with the British press reporting a bid from Qatar that, if successful, will send shockwaves through European football.
The Glazer family, United’s current American owners, opened the door to new investment in the English giants in November, either in the form of a minority stake or a full takeover.
The Glazers, who have been deeply unpopular with supporters since they saddled the club with massive debts in a £790 million ($961 million) leveraged takeover in 2005, are ready to cash out their chips at a huge profit.
According to reports, they are seeking £6 billion for the three-time European champions, which would break Chelsea’s previous record fee for a football club.
A consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital paid £2.5 billion for the Blues, with an additional £1.75 billion in infrastructure and player investment promised.
To date, only British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, owner of petrochemicals giant Ineos, which also owns French club Nice, has publicly expressed interest in purchasing United.
However, reports of a bid supported by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, refuse to die.
– PSG power and influence –
Qatar already wields considerable power in the corridors of power in European football.
Since being taken over by Qatar Sports Investments — a subsidiary of the state’s sovereign wealth fund — in 2011, Paris Saint-Germain has dominated French football, attracting some of the game’s biggest stars such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar to the Parc des Princes.
PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi is also the chairman of the powerful European Club Association.
A successful Qatari bid would give the Gulf state pride of place in the Premier League, the world’s most-watched domestic competition, just months after hosting the 2022 World Cup.
“Qatar’s investment in PSG has been enormously successful,” said Danyel Reiche, associate professor of international relations at Georgetown University’s Qatar campus.
“As a result, acquiring Manchester United would make perfect sense.”
Ownership of Manchester United could also give Qatar bragging rights over gulf neighbors Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia’s stakes in English football.
Manchester City’s investment in Abu Dhabi has transformed them into the Premier League’s dominant force, with six titles in the last 11 seasons.
Newcastle United is flying high in fourth place and into the League Cup final for the first time in 47 years, only 16 months after being taken over by a Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
However, neither City nor Newcastle can match United’s legacy of 20 English titles and a massive global fanbase.
“The Gulf’s investments in European football clubs cannot be viewed purely economically. “They serve as a tool for nation branding as well as international relations,” Reiche added.
“The rivalry between two countries in just one town, with Manchester City owned by the UAE and Manchester United owned by Qatar, would be a new escalation in the rivalry between two countries with recently deteriorating relations.”
– Regulatory hurdles –
A Qatari bid would have to overcome a number of regulatory hurdles.
Amnesty International has urged the Premier League to tighten ownership rules in order to ensure that they are “human rights-compliant and do not provide an opportunity for more sports washing.”
However, the precedent set by approving investment from Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia makes it highly unlikely that the Premier League would oppose a takeover.
UEFA’s rules prohibiting two clubs controlled “directly or indirectly” by the same entity from competing in the Champions League may be more problematic.
A source familiar with the bid told AFP that the bidders are unrelated to PSG’s owners.
“The most important thing to note is that the potential bidder is not QSI or QIA (the Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund), but rather a completely different fund,” the source said.
Attempting to differentiate between Qatari-based funds will be met with skepticism from rival clubs.
Despite being backed by Red Bull, Germany’s RB Leipzig and Austrian champions Salzburg have found a way around UEFA’s rules and are competing in the same competition.
United has been in a slump since former manager Alex Ferguson left the club with the club’s last league title a decade ago.
The Red Devils have not won a trophy in six years and did not qualify for the Champions League this season.
The deadline for bids to be submitted on Friday could mark the beginning of a prosperous new era on the field, fueled by Qatar’s oil and gas wealth.
It remains to be seen, however, how Old Trafford supporters would react if a Qatari bid was approved.
