Is Manchester United lying? Qatar claim the club lied about the bid

Qatar make serious accusations against United as they say the club lied about the bid

18/01/2024, 09:34 PM +00:00

Manchester United in trouble if these claims are accurate

Just when it looked like the Manchester United takeover saga had been completed and that all the drama was left behind, the exact opposite happened. In typical Manchester United fashion, drama once again ensued with the football club. Yesterday the SEC filings of the MUFC takeover were released and all the notes were out for the public to read to fully understand what transpired over the past year.

The takeover drama started last November when the Glazer family announced they were exploring potential sale avenues for the football club. Within the snap of a finger the two favorites became Qatar who had yet to make their impact felt on the Premier League, and Sir Jim Ratclife who is a boyhood United fan. Although it seemed like Sheikh Jassim and his team would be the favorites due to their financial firepower and advantage over Sir Jim, the opposite happened.

Qatar was making the grander gesture offers by pledging to wipe out the debt of the club, and a complete renovation of Old Trafford. However, Ratcliffe was playing it smarter and aligning his bids closer to what the seller wanted, which was the Glazers. Ratcliffe was originally approaching full takeover bids, but eventually realized that the Glazers asking price for a full takeover of the club was too exaggerated. Therefore, Ratcliffe made the one offer that Qatar would never make. Ratcliffe made an offer for part ownership which would allow the Glazers to stay as majority owners for the meantime.

And now that the dust has settled and all the info is out, according to the filings of the SEC, Qatar never made an offer that matched the asking price for the club and that there was no proof of funding made. Now according to the SEC this is what the club told its shareholders. The filings also included the fact that Ratcliffe had given the club a deadline for his 25 percent bid that the club eventually accepted one day before.

Qatar’s angry reaction to the SEC filings

Sheikh Jassim and his camp were furious with the words in the filings released yesterday and according to Mike Keegan of the Daily Mail, they may seek a corrected statement from the SEC.