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Among every transfer saga at the club, the Manchester United takeover saga has become the most drawn-out.
It’s been nearly 10 months since the Glazers announced they were exploring “strategic alternatives” for the club and multiple rounds of bidding later, the process is no closer to completion.
Meanwhile, Ben Jacobs (via GIVEMESPORTS) reports that Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani is supremely confident in his bid beating Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s at this point.
He says that from a Qatari point of view, “they believe either they are going to win or there will be no sale”.
It is a strong claim, effectively ruling Sir Jim out of the race altogether.
Jacobs claims the only thing in favour of Sir Jim right now is that he’s offering a more “flexible structure” to the Glazers, which is particularly attractive for Joel and Avram, who don’t want to sell fully.
The Glazers believe that the ascent of the Saudi League, and the upcoming expanded Club World Cup mean the value of the club will soar further.
In such a scenario, a gulf remains in valuation, as the Glazers continue to hold out for more and more. They think the club is worth more “than anybody at the moment has offered on the table”.
If everything comes down to a matter of money, then it is understandable that the Qatari bid is feeling confident.
Sheikh Jassim was almost out of the process back in April before lodging an attractive eleventh-hour bid to come back in the running.
Since then, there have been no official public declarations/briefings from any involved party, buying or selling.
Jacobs says that the longer this process goes on, the more the chances that the six Glazer siblings are not on the same page.
Officially, the process is still no closer to moving towards completion but the confidence from Sheikh Jassim’s side means there could be something in the works still, no matter what the eventual decision is.