Another twist in the Man Utd takeover saga! Sheikh Jassim left ‘furious’ as Qatar bidders claim they DID meet asking price and provided proof of funds

According to Daily Mail, the Qatari entity asserts that they approximately matched Manchester United's £4.5 billion asking price, which is slightly below the accepted bid by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, along with the commitment to clear all existing debt. They are angered by United's claims made in the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to shareholders that the Qatar group failed to meet the valuation set by the Glazer family, the club's owners, and lacked evidence regarding the funding source.

United's filing mentioned that "Bidder A" (Qatar bid) repeatedly failed to provide "customary financing commitment letters". Contrary to this claim, insiders contend that various financial information, including a separate bank guarantee from the chief executive of the Qatar National Bank, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, was submitted.

The frustration extends to the lack of disclosure about Sheikh Jassim's commitment to an immediate infrastructure injection of around £1 billion ($1.3 billion), which is a massive figure compared to Ratcliffe's group's planned investment of £237 million to renovate the Old Trafford. Moreover, while United claim that the final Qatar bid was around £4bn, the Middle Eastern group insist that the figure was considerably higher.

Discussions are ongoing about a potential response and the consideration of issuing a demand to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a corrective statement. United have refrained from commenting but it is believed that they remain confident in the details published in the documents. After the disappointment, it won't be surprising if Sheikh Jassim & Co. choose to move forward without taking any further action but will be harbouring scepticism about the Glazer family's intention to sell to them.