Prospective Manchester United owner ‘failed to provide evidence of funds’ despite numerous requests, says report

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani dropped out of the race to buy Manchester United after failing to prove he had sufficient finances for the deal, according to latest reports.

The Guardian reports that the Qatari banker did not disclose any proof of funds during the process last year. Filings made to the US Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of 27.69% of the club, but Jassim did not respond to requests to show where his money was coming from, the details found.

It’s believed that Jassim – known as Bidder A –  repeatedly submitted the ‘customary financing commitment letters’ despite numerous asks to provide proof of funds.

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani has been linked with other Premier League clubs, too (Image credit: Sheikh Jassim)

Even after a series of revised and improved bids from Jassim, the Manchester United board of directors eventually told him that they would “require sufficient evidence of the financing and customary financing commitment papers” in order to continue. But those never arrived, before he opted out of the process.

At the time, questions were asked as to whether the banker had sufficient money – or whether he was the frontman for a bid funded by the Qatari state. The document also shows how Ratcliffe slowly increased his offer before taking a minority stake over the summer.

The Athletic, meanwhile, stated that the INEOS chief was close to dropping proceedings entirely, and it took an informal board meeting between United’s directors on December 22 to push the move through after Ineos CEO threatened to walk away from the process.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe ended up investing in United (Image credit: Getty Images)

The documents state: “Offeror was not prepared to accept any other changes proposed by the non-affiliated directors, and gave Manchester United a deadline of December 25, 2023 to accept its best and final proposal.”

The Premier League giants officially announced the sale of a minority stake to Ratcliffe on December 24. The deal saw Ratcliffe acquire a 25% stake in the club for approximately £1.3 billion, as well as taking over responsibility for football operations.

The announcement came over a year after the Glazers declared their intention to explore strategic options for the club, which was thought to include a complete sale of the club.

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