'The Qataris were very real!' - Man Utd takeover insider sets record straight on Sheikh Jassim after Sir Jim Ratcliffe's 'don't think he exists' jibe & reveals why Glazers buyout never happened

After seeing the Glazer family open themselves up to offers at Old Trafford, a long-running bid for power played out. Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani was a leading player in that process, but ultimately walked away from talks when a deal became impossible.

That left the door open for Ratcliffe to acquire a 25 per cent stake in the Red Devils, with the INEOS chief claiming at one stage: “Still nobody’s ever seen him (Sheikh Jassim), actually. The Glazers never met him… he never… I’m not sure he exists!”

Ravitch – co-founder and partner at Raine Group, who were charged with the task of negotiating with interested parties – has told The Times of takeover talks: “We met Jassim. He was in New York. He’s a lovely guy; a very smart guy. The Qataris were very real. They were very smart guys, very thoughtful. I don’t know why they didn’t appreciate the value [of the club] but we were not their adviser. We tried as the seller to explain the value to them, and they put what they thought was a series of very serious bids on the table.”

Ravitch added on why the Qatari bid fell short, with United having been valued at “around $6.5bn [£5bn]”: “I think the Qataris got to about $5.75bn. We said to them, ‘You’re within 10 per cent, why don’t you get in a room and try to get to a deal.’ But they said no. I think they were very conscious of criticism if they were seen to be overpaying.”

United are considered to have “made the right decision” in going with Ratcliffe, despite Sheikh Jassim’s group being billed as “good owners”, and the expectation is that positive progress will be made on and off the field now that more investment has been found in Manchester.