--- title: "Qatar Said to Prepare Imminent Bid for Manchester United FC" description: "Qatari investors are set to make an offer for Manchester United Plc in the coming days, people familiar with the matter said, in a move that would cement the country’s desire to become a major player in global sports." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "Business Maverick" author: "Bloomberg" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-02-13-qatar-said-to-prepare-imminent-bid-for-manchester-united-fc/" published: "2023-02-13T18:10:34" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 456 --- # Qatar Said to Prepare Imminent Bid for Manchester United FC > Qatari investors are set to make an offer for Manchester United Plc in the coming days, people familiar with the matter said, in a move that would cement the country’s desire to become a major player in global sports. By Bloomberg · Published 13 February 2023, 20:10 SAST ## Key points - The Qatar Investment Authority, alongside local family offices, is reportedly preparing to submit a bid for English Premier League football club Manchester United by the end of the week. The Glazer family, who currently own the team, are reportedly open to selling a stake. Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has already declared his interest and is working with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co on a potential offer. Qatar Sports Investments already owns French super-club Paris Saint-Germain FC; however, regulations stipulate teams with the same majority owner can’t compete in major tournaments like the Champions League. A successful bid would need to exceed £4 billion ($4.8 billion) according to sports investment specialist Adam Sommerfeld at Certus Capital. Qatar has spent more than $200 billion during the past decade redeveloping infrastructure for the FIFA World Cup and buying sports assets, so this could be their next big acquisition. - A Qatari consortium is preparing to submit an initial bid for Manchester United Football Club by the end of the week. - The Qatar Investment Authority and local family offices are helping with preparations for a bid. - Any offer for Manchester United would need to exceed £4 billion ($4.8 billion) to be successful. - Qatar has previously bought sports assets, including French super-club Paris Saint-Germain FC and Portuguese football club SC Braga. ## Content The Qatari consortium is preparing to submit an initial bid for the English Premier League football club by the end of the week, the people said. Officials at sovereign wealth fund the Qatar Investment Authority are helping with preparations for a bid alongside local family offices, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. New York bank Raine Group is advising Manchester United’s owners, the US-based Glazer family. Shares in Manchester United rose as much as 5.3% in early trading in New York on Monday. Manchester United has been the subject of [increasing](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-08/manchester-united-shares-surge-as-qatari-report-stokes-m-a-bets) takeover speculation since the summer, when Bloomberg News [reported](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-17/glazers-said-open-to-sale-of-minority-manchester-united-stake) the Glazer family was open to selling a stake. So far, only British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has officially declared his interest and is [working](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-09/jim-ratcliffe-taps-jpmorgan-goldman-to-advise-on-man-united-bid) with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. on a potential offer. Bloomberg News reported in [January](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-09/man-united-liverpool-said-to-be-buyout-targets-for-qatar-fund) that state-backed Qatari investors were weighing an investment in Manchester United. Qatar Sports Investments, a separate entity to QIA, already owns French super-club Paris Saint-Germain FC. Regulations from European football’s governing body, UEFA, state that teams with the same majority owner can’t both compete in the region’s major tournaments, including the showpiece Champions League. QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi is also a [member](https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/about-uefa/executive-committee/) of the UEFA Executive Committee that adopts its regulations. It is not unprecedented for an owner to field two clubs in the same European competition. FC Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig met each other in UEFA’s Europa League in 2018 after they showed there was clear separation between the two teams, despite both being part of the Red Bull GmbH group. [Read more: English Football’s Dancing to a Subprime Beat—Matthew Brooker](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-02-11/english-football-s-money-dance-has-a-subprime-beat) Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the ruling emir of Qatar, is a Manchester United fan and unlikely to want to let slip the chance to own what is widely regarded as one of the world’s biggest sports brands. Deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions have been taken about which Qatari entities will ultimately provide capital for the Manchester United bid, the people said. A spokesperson for QIA declined to comment, while a representative for QSI wasn’t immediately available for comment. Adam Sommerfeld, a sport investment specialist at Certus Capital, has estimated that any offer for Manchester United would need to exceed £4 billion ($4.8 billion) to be successful. That would make it one of the largest ever deals involving a sporting franchise. Qatar spent more than $200 billion during the past decade redeveloping the country’s infrastructure to host the FIFA World Cup. Alongside building new stadiums and entire municipalities, it also bought sports assets. As well as the takeover of PSG, QSI has a stake Portuguese football club SC Braga.