Sheikh Jassim believes Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a “stalking horse” in Manchester United takeover process – Man United News And Transfer News

3

Manchester United’s takeover process still shows no signs of reaching a conclusion and recent reports indicate a game of one-upping each other might be afoot between the leading bidders.

CBS journalist Ben Jacobs, talking on Stretford Paddock’s YouTube channel (via Manchester Evening News) reports that Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani sees Sir Jim Ratcliffe as a “stalking horse” in the whole process.

It means that he believes the lifelong United fan is just there to “drive up the price”, and consequently, the Glazers have no intention of actually selling the club to him.

This lends further credence to recent reports which indicated that the Qatari camp is increasingly confident of sealing the takeover, after initially looking like Sir Jim was leading the process.

The report states that Qatar are convinced they’ll win if all six Glazer family members sell.

This remains the main point of difference between the two bids.

The Qatari bid is for 100% control of the club, and eventually delisting from the stock market as a result and going completely private.

Ratcliffe, on the other hand, has only offered to buy a controlling share, with even the option of letting the Glazers hold some stock in the club, to be bought out later.

It was reported to be the factor which had swung the process in the latter’s favour.

The report of Ratcliffe being seen as a “stalking horse”, however, indicates that the Sheikh’s camp is getting increasingly confident of winning.

They bid twice after the initial deadline of April 29th, mainly due to pressure created by Sir Jim’s creative bid. Ben Jacobs said that Raine have “done their job” by successfully manufacturing a bidding war for the asset.

Meanwhile, Manchester United fans are just hoping for light at the end of the tunnel at this point. The process, which started in October last year, has dragged on without an end in sight with twists and turns becoming a daily occurrence.

The club is in the middle of a crucial transfer window for Erik ten Hag’s side and clarity in the hierarchy about how much will be provided to the manager is imperative for success.