Manchester United are reportedly set to be the subject of a takeover bid by a group of wealthy individuals based in the country of Qatar ahead of next week's apparent deadline for offers to be submitted.
A statement released late last November by United confirmed that the club was up for sale. Since then, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman and chief executive of global chemicals company INEOS, 'formally' confirmed his interest in buying the club through a spokesperson.
Britain's richest man remains the only person to publicly do so, but these claims are the clearest sign yet that a Qatari-based group could become serious contenders to the billionaire.
READ MORE: United takeover bids due in days as Glazers dealt a blow in £8billion hope
Who is reporting what?
A pair of articles in the Daily Mail and on MailOnline claim that plans are in place for Qatari investors to make a 'mega-money' move for the football club 'in the coming days, according to Sportsmail and unnamed sources. The Sun are also reporting that The Raine Group, who are acting as the Glazer family's exclusive financial advisor during the process, have imposed a February 17 deadline for bids to be submitted by, just a day removed from the first leg of United's Europa League knockout round play-off tie against Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Who are the group?
Sources cited in these reports suggest that the group of Qatar-based investors comprises of 'private, high-wealth individuals'. The reporting also adds that the group is 'separate' from Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), who have owned French club Paris Saint-Germain since 2011 and more recently, in October last year, purchased a minority stake in Portuguese side Braga.
While QSI is affiliated with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the country's sovereign wealth fund, it is claimed that the money behind such a move for United would be from an 'individual fund' rather than a state-owned one.
Such separation would remove the potential problem of two clubs who are owned by the same company competing against each other in UEFA competitions (i.e the Champions League, the Europa League or the Europa Conference League). The reporting states that the group are 'confident' the country's ownership of PSG will present 'no issues' to any future participation in Europe.
What else has been said?
The reporting goes on to add that manager Erik ten Hag would be backed with a 'transfer war-chest' allowing United to compete with 'the world's richest clubs' for signings. An unnamed source is quoted as saying that "there are significant funds available".
As always, though, Premier League approval would be required before any such takeover were made official. At this stage, the country's concerning human rights record, which was highlighted in the led up to last year's men's World Cup, could come into consideration.
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