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Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim, billionaire Ratcliffe submit bids for Man Utd

Michael Regan / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the chairman of one of Qatar's leading banks and son of the country's former prime minister, has submitted a bid to take 100% control of Manchester United.

Though it remains unclear how much the bid is officially worth, a statement from Sheikh Jassim's representatives on Friday said it would be debt-free.

Earlier Friday, Bloomberg's Archana Narayanan and Dinesh Nair reported that Qatar's royal family had readied a £5-billion offer for United.

The Glazer family, which completed a leveraged takeover of United in 2005, is reportedly seeking around £6 billion to hand over stewardship of the club.

"The bid plans to return the club to its former glories both on and off the pitch, and - above all - will seek to place the fans at the heart of Manchester United Football Club once more," Sheikh Jassim's representatives said in a statement obtained by Rob Harris of Sky News.

"The bid will be completely debt-free via Sheikh Jassim's Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience, and the communities the club supports."

But the Qatari bid has competition. INEOS, the petrochemicals manufacturer owned by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, also registered a bid to buy the club before the Glazers' soft deadline passed at 10 p.m. local time Friday. A source told Harris that Ratcliffe would prioritize "a modern, progressive, fan-centred approach to ownership."

"We are ambitious and highly competitive and would want to invest in Manchester United to make them the number one club in the world once again," INEOS said on Saturday.

In its statement, the company also appeared to present itself as an alternative to foreign ownership.

"We want a Manchester United anchored in its proud history and roots in the North-West of England, putting the Manchester back into Manchester United and clearly focusing on winning the Champions League," INEOS added.

A lifelong fan of United and one of Britain's richest men, Ratcliffe had already announced his intention to buy the club outright from the Glazers through INEOS, which also has stakes in Ligue 1 club Nice, Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport, and cycling team Ineos Grenadiers.

Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe had to show proof of funds, along with the total amount they planned to offer, prior to Friday's deadline.

Even though the deadline for offers has passed, other suitors could yet emerge. U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management is willing to provide financing to any prospective investor that doesn't have the cash to complete a full takeover, according to The Times' Jamie Nimmo, Jon Yeomans, Matt Lawton, and Paul Hirst. However, Elliott, which recently sold Italian champions AC Milan to RedBird Capital Partners for $1.2 billion, has no apparent interest in fronting a bid of its own.

The Glazers said in November they would consider "all strategic alternatives," including selling both minority and majority stakes in the club, and appointed merchant bank Raine Group, which brokered Todd Boehly's £4.25-billion takeover of Chelsea last year, to handle offers.

Sheikh Jassim, 41, is a member of Qatar's royal family and a relative of the current emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, who's been in power since 2013.

The emir is indirectly involved with European powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain, who are owned by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), a subsidiary of the state's sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

Sources told The Independent's Miguel Delaney that Sheikh Jassim's bid has no connection to QSI and is privately funded. However, QIA has stakes in both the Qatar Islamic Bank, which Sheikh Jassim chairs, and QSI.

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