PSG chairman tries to help Qatar billionaire buy Man United

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi is reportedly playing a part in Sheikh Jassim’s bid for Manchester United. Sheikh Jassim is currently locked in negotiations with the Glazer family over acquiring a majority stake in the Premier League club. Al-Khelaifi and Sheikh Jassim are both from the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar.

According to The Athletic, the Glazers have contacted Al-Khelaifi in hopes to help persuade Sheikh Jassim to increase his offer. Sheikh Jassim submitted a bid for the club in the region of $6.3 billion earlier in the week. The final Qatari offer is for 100% control of United. This latest offer apparently had a loose expiration date of Friday, June 9th. The Glazer family have been holding out for a bid closer to $8 billion.

Having been contacted by the current United owners, Al-Khelaifi has since met with the Glazers and the Raine Group. The American banking organization is managing the sale of the English team for the family. As a team president, Al-Khelaifi understands the business and is attempting to help both sides in negotiations. He is essentially working as a middleman between the Glazers and Sheikh Jassim.

British billionaire also negotiating for club

Nevertheless, Sheikh Jassim is not the other billionaire to officially bid for United. British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe has also offered to purchase the club. Ratcliffe’s bid, however, is significantly different to Sheikh Jassim’s.

The British billionaire wants a smaller 51% piece of the club, with hopes of a full takeover at a later date. This move would keep some of the Glazer family on as minority investors. Although current ownership receive less money up front, they would still be involved with the club. Ratcliffe’s offer will generate more money in the long-term for the Glazers.

Premier League clubs worry about PSG and Al-Khelaifi’s involvement in offer

The Athletic also claims that the involvement of the Paris Saint-Germain president hasn’t gone over too well in England. Many Premier League teams are supposedly concerned that United, arguably the biggest club in England, would become state-owned by Qatar.

Among other things, Al-Khelaifi is also the chairman of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI). This group is a division of the state-run sovereign-wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). These Premier League clubs reportedly worry that Shiekh Jassim would essentially just be a face for the Qatar state should he successfully purchase United.

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