Man Utd takeover: Bidder tipped to pursue shock purchase of Spurs in move to ‘terrify’ Red Devils

Sheikh Jassim has been tipped to make a move for Tottenham Hotspur if his attempted takeover of Man Utd does not go through.

The Qatari businessman is among the candidates in the running to buy Man Utd from the Glazer family.

Sheikh Jassim has been directly competing with INEOS’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has reportedly emerged as the most likely candidate to become United’s new majority shareholder.

Ratcliffe is open to keeping the Glazer family on board as long as he gains control of Man Utd. It was recently claimed that he is willing to offer the club’s current owners a reduced 20% stake in the Premier League giants. 

A takeover is likely to be finalised this summer and Sheikh Jassim may soon be made to look elsewhere. ESPN journalist Mark Ogden has warned United and their Premier League rivals that he could “end up buying Tottenham”.

“PSG was a great move [for the club’s Qatari owners] because it’s Paris, it’s a great city, but I think they’ve found over the years that Ligue 1 is just not big enough. They want the Premier League footprint,” Ogden said on The United Stand.

“Somebody told me recently, they said that if the Qataris don’t buy Manchester United, they’ll be back and they might end up buying Tottenham.

“He said, look, if you’ve got Manchester City owned by Abu Dhabi, you’ve got Newcastle owned by Saudi Arabia, if Qataris maybe buy Tottenham, then you’ve got three clubs who can pull away.

“Every year, it would be United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal fighting for fourth spot, which is quite a terrifying prospect for [them].”

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A separate report from Ben Jacobs claims Sheikh Jassim ‘will need’ to raise his offer to beat Ratcliffe in the race to buy Man Utd.

‘Sheikh Jassim hasn’t given up. There is confusion over the Nine Two Foundation’s offer and whether it is lower than anticipated because it’s inclusive of pledged investment. Sources close to the group are adamant it is “competitive”, though, maintaining around £0.8bn is on top of a club valuation of around £5bn.

‘Sheikh Jassim, via intermediaries, is expected to hold further talks this week, described by sources as in-depth. There is no guarantee his offer will be raised, but the feeling is it will need to be in order to stand a chance of succeeding.

‘Reports a bid has already been improved to £6bn are wide of the mark to my understanding. The official deadlines are gone and talks are more fluid now. So any bid would likely not be disclosed and be tabled in a less formal manner.’

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