Qatar Royal Family Plan £1.5bn Takeover of Manchester United

The “Qatar Royal Family reportedly plan on a £1.5bn takeover of Manchester United,” screams a British tabloid.

The problem is that the newspaper reporting the news, The Mirror, is renowned for printing gossip without a sliver of truth to it. And in this particular case, the article in question is devoid of any sources or any semblance of fact. It just sounds like a sensational headline and nothing more. It’s one of those rare stories where you can learn everything there is to know by the headline itself. The remainder of the article is fluff as demonstrated by a quick dissection of the article as follows:

• Number of words: 581
• Sources attributed: 0
• Number of words actually discussing Qatar Royal Family’s “planned” takeover of Man United: 115
• What do those 115 words say? Nothing really other than what the headline already says.

So could the Qatar Royal Family actually be planning a takeover of United? Quite possibly yes, but the lack of any quotes or additional information from The Mirror makes the story appear very unlikely.