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Man United Takeover: The truth about Sheikh Jassim's £800m pledge revealed - sources
The extra £800million Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani has pledged to fund infrastructure upgrades at Man United will have no bearing on the Glazers’ takeover decision, sources have told Football Insider.
The Qatari group fronted by Jassim has promised that the cash, which is separate from the circa £5billion they have offered to buy the club, will be set aside to improve Old Trafford and the Carrington training complex.
It is not known whether Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group, Jassim’s closest rival for a majority takeover, has also earmarked funds for the capital expenditure projects long called for by United supporters.
But two industry sources have told this site that post-deal funds are immaterial to the Glazers unless they decide to retain a minority stake in the club, which is not a situation the Qataris are willing to entertain.
Ratcliffe is believed to be offering Joel and Avram Glazer a pathway to remaining at the club as minority shareholders, a scenario which is deeply unpopular with large sections of the fanbase.
His bid values the club higher than Jassim’s but is for a smaller stake, with 69 per cent understood to be the highest stake he could acquire.
Old Trafford is still the most lucrative stadium in the Premier League in terms of matchday income but has fallen behind many of its peers in the standard of the facilities on offer.
Those consulted by this site also claimed that Jassim’s £800m package was well below previous forecasts of how much a major redevelopment or total rebuild of the 75,000-seater stadium might cost.
Previous estimates have put the potential total closer to £2bn.
Four US investment firms have also submitted offers to acquire a minority stake in United, and it is not known whether their proposals include cash reserved for infrastructure spending.
It is understood that a deal could take over 10 weeks to complete after the Glazers have selected a preferred bidder.
In other news, Man United leapfrog Chelsea in battle to sign Paris Saint-Germain star.