Revealed: Man Utd bidder Sheikh Jassim is 'quiet and guarded', smokes during meetings and wants Red Devils as a 'trophy asset' as he closes in on £5.5bn takeover

According to the report by The Athletic, Sheikh Jassim entered the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1997 at the age of 15 and graduated the following year at the age of 16.

That would make him one of the youngest students at Sandhurst, where officers usually enter at the age of 18 or at post-graduate level at the age of 21 or above.

He studied Commissioning Course 973 and was part of Inkerman Company, along with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is the current emir of Qatar.

Previous Sandhurst graduates include Winston Churchill, Prince William and Prince Harry and Muammar Gaddafi.

The report also reveals that Sheikh Jassim was part of discussions to buy United back in 2010 when the Red Knights, a consortium of wealthy Red Devils' fans, launched an ultimately failed bid to buy the club from the Glazers.

Jassim attended meetings in Doha alongside other members of the Qatar royal family and according to a source consulted by The Athletic he seemed "very interested in the idea".

The report states that Jassim was known for smoking in the middle of meetings with his various companies. While alcohol is prohibited in Qatar apart from in certain hotels, there is no law against smoking.

Jassim's business associates consulted by The Athletic also said he was "difficult to read" in meetings and sometimes appeared uninterested.

"It was not uncommon to see him cross his legs, look away from the table and, once again, start puffing on a cigar," adds the report.

Although Jassim is said to be a private and reserved figure and in that respect is very different to INEOS CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe, his only rival to buy United, the report adds that the Skeikh "likes to have nice things" and therefore wants to own the club because it will give him a greater status and presence.

Qataris have invested in prestigious British department store Harrods plus skyscrapers the Shard and the Empire State Building and United, the best-supported and most successful club in English football, is seen as another "trophy asset".

While Ratcliffe was front and centre of INEOS' delegation when they visited Old Trafford in March as part of the bidding process, Jassim did not fly to Manchester when his Nine Two Foundation met United's representatives.

That added to the sense of mystery surrounding the Sheikh, and a regional expert consulted by The Athletic said that Jassim was not widely known in the country.

The report adds that Sheikh Jassim has had no direct role in negotiations with the Glazer family or the Raine Group which is organising the sale process. Instead, Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al Khelaifi is said to have played a significant role in the process.

Al Khelaifi's involvement in the United takeover muddies the claim that Sheikh Jassim is independent from the state of Qatar is the PSG president is chairman of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), the sovereign wealth fund responsible for investing in sport on a national level.