Is There Any Truth In The ‘Rumour’ That Sheikh Jassim Is Pulling Out Of Buying Manchester United?

The ongoing saga surrounding the possible purchase of Premier League giants Manchester United seems no nearer to a conclusion this Thursday, July 13.

With the bidders whittled down to the duo of Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and the British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe there is still uncertainty over which one – if either – will end up taking over at Old Trafford.

According to Man U News on Tuesday, July 11, Simon Stone, the respected BBC reporter, spoke recently about a ‘rumour’ that the former was ready to pull out of the race.

‘We all get told things, there can be frustration from one side or the other’, said Stone. ‘There can be a belief that this is going to happen. I was told a rumour the other day that Sheikh Jassim was about to pull out. I checked that, and that was just dismissed’, he explained.

News about the takeover has been kept under wraps

Even if the Qatari bid still remains on the table, and the sheikh intends to pursue his interest in the Red Devils, there doesn’t appear to be the usual news circulating even in the business world.

Last month, David Hellier, writing for the influential Bloomberg news outlet claimed that Ratcliffe’s deal was actually ‘dead in the water’. However, Stone suggested that was not the case and that the INEOS chemicals group CEO was very much in the race.

The fact remains that a new season is almost upon us and, on the surface, very little progress seems to have been made since Joel and Avram Glazer announced their plans to ‘explore strategic alternatives’ for investment in United.

Although it has not been stated publicly, it could be assumed maybe that one reason for the lack of movement – and also transparency – is that neither party came near the £6bn asking price that is believed to have been set by the owners.

Were the bids too low for the Glazers to consider moving forward?

It was reported after Sheikh Jassim submitted his last bid that it would be his final offering, which was said to be a total of £5bn. That is of course £1bn less than the reported asking price, so the question could be asking, has a stalemate been reached?

On June 30, a report in the Manchester Evening News suggested that the Qatari side believed they were in the driving seat. However, should their bid be rejected, they expected that no sale would ever take place.

Mason Mount arrived at Old Trafford but no other big names

Man United fans must be feeling rather irritated right now, to say the least. While other clubs have announced big signings, Erik ten Hag appears to have had his hands tied in the transfer market.

Mason Mount has arrived from Chelsea after long negotiations took place but not a lot else has transpired. United were chasing England captain Harry Kane last month but for reasons best known by the club, they pulled out of the race.

Meanwhile, there was anger over the way David De Gea was treated when his contract expired. The Spanish international keeper finally took to social media to make his own announcement informing the fans that he was leaving the club.

Manchester United’s fans are renowned for being very vocal when it comes to the welfare of their beloved team. A new season kicks off on Monday, August 14 August with a Premier League game against Wolves and one would think that the supporters deserved to be enlightened about the takeover.

As reported today by the Manchester Evening News: ‘Protests were audible at Old Trafford all season and those voices made their way to Oslo for pre-season’.