Sheikh Jassim tipped to buy Tottenham after pulling out of Man Utd takeover battle

Sheikh Jassim has already been tipped to buy another Premier League club amid reports that he has pulled out of the race to take over Manchester United.

The Qatari businessman, through his Nine Two Foundation, had launched five separate bids for United prior to October,

The latest of those was believed to be worth £5 billion, as per the Daily Mail, with further investment held back for recruitment and infrastructure.

But ESPN's Rob Dawson reported on Saturday evening that Sheikh Jassim's party had withdrawn from talks to complete a full takeover of United from the Glazer family.

He explained: "Sheikh Jassim and his team are not commenting officially but have informed the Glazers and Raine [the merchant bank overseeing sale negotiations] that they have withdrawn from the process.

"Negotiations have taken place in recent days and feeling is that the Glazers' valuation of the club is unrealistic."

According to Fabrizio Romano, the total value of Sheikh Jassim's bid was more than double that of United's actual market valuation, which stands at around £2.6 billion.

But the Qatari businessman's ambitions of owning a Premier League club may not end with United.

ESPN's Mark Ogden believes that the Qataris could decide to look elsewhere and purchase Premier League rivals Tottenham instead.

Speaking to The United Stand in May, Ogden explained: "PSG was a great move [for the club's Qatari owners], because it's Paris.

"It's a great city, but I think they've found over the years that Ligue 1 is just not big enough. They want the Premier League footprint.

"Somebody told me recently, they said that if the Qataris don't buy Manchester United, they'll be back and they might end up buying Tottenham."

Speaking last month, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy revealed that the club's owners, ENIC, would be willing to sell a stake in the club they have owned since 2001.

He told Bloomberg: "If anyone wants to make serious propositions to the board of Tottenham, we will consider it along with our advisors.

"And if we felt it was in the interests of the club, we would be open to anything."

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