Emir of Qatar's uncle to bid for Manchester United as deadline looms

The Emir of Qatar’s uncle will bid for Manchester United, according to a fresh report.

Last November United’s controversial owners, the Glazers stunned the football and financial world by announcing a strategic review of the club that includes the possibility of a sale.

American merchant bank The Raine Group were since brought in to assist the club in assessing offers and have set a soft deadline of Friday, February 17, for prospective bidders to formally indicate their interest and submit proof of funds.

Boyhood United fan Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is the owner of the petrochemical company Ineos, remains the sole confirmed bidder for the Old Trafford club.

His company told the PA news agency last month: “We have formally put ourselves into the process.”

However, there is the possibility of interest from Saudi Arabia. Indeed, last November the country’s sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal told the BBC that the government would support any Saudi private-sector bids for United or Liverpool.

Meanwhile, American venture capitalists are also expected to make a bid for United. Crystal Palace investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer are thought to be interested, while Joel and Avram Glazer could reportedly make a bid to buy out the club from their siblings.

Yet much of the talk in the past week has been of a Qatari bid.

Emir of Qatar to bid for Man Utd?

According to French publication L’Equipe, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani is among a consortium of Qatari investors who wish to take over United.

Hamad is the former prime minister and Foreign Affairs minister of the Gulf state, and the uncle of Paris Saint-Germain owner and Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The 63-year-old will allegedly be helped by his son, Jassim bin Hamad bin Jaber Al Thani, and a group of associates, though they would reportedly appoint a deputy chairman if their desire to take over United materialises.

Notably, Hamad was also the former boss of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), whose subsidiary Qatar Sports Investment owns PSG.

L’Equipe claim, however, that the Qatari bid will not go through QIA, but instead will be presented via a local foundation supported by the private funds.

The reported scheme would be to bypass UEFA regulations that prevent owners from having more than one club in the same European competition.

Indeed, should a successful Qatari bid to come from the QIA, United and PSG would be unable to compete against one another in the Champions League.