Man Utd takeover: Sheikh Jassim eyes ‘revenge plot’ after Glazers leave him ‘stunned’

Man Utd bidder Sheikh Jassim is looking to buy West Ham if he fails in his Red Devils takeover attempts, according to reports.

Sheikh Jassim, the chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank and the son of a former Qatari prime minister, and INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe made their third bids for the club at the end of April.

But, amid growing confidence in the Ratcliffe camp that they are the Glazer family’s preferred bidder, Sheikh Jassim made a fourth offer directly to the Man Utd owners last week.

Sheikh Jassim has increased the value of his offer for the club, which will clear all of their debt and includes a separate fund that will aim to help the club and community.

The Glazers announced in November that they were seeking “strategic alternatives” to help the club’s growth, including the potential for a full sale.

If Ratcliffe purchases the club ahead of him then Spanish publication El Pais claim Sheikh Jassim will attempt to buy West Ham instead in what the Daily Express are calling a ‘revenge plot’.

El Pais add that the Glazers left Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim ‘stunned’ back in March when they raised the asking price after bids had already been made.

It is understood that the Glazers had told Sheikh Jassim’s camp that a £5.2billion bid would be enough to secure a deal for the club before they upped their demands to nearly £6bn soon after.

There is concern among the fanbase that the takeover saga could drag on for much of the summer transfer window and lead to Man Utd missing out on key targets.

And transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reckons it will already be impacting their ability to line up deals for when the transfer window reopens next month.

Romano told GiveMeSport: “It is not easy to approach players to discuss the project, to have an exciting manager like Erik ten Hag, who is doing an excellent job and not be able to close some deals. This is why, for Man United, it is really crucial to make a decision as soon as possible.”

And The Athletic journalist David Ornstein recently echoed those thoughts with Man Utd struggling to move forward with potential transfers because of the takeover situation.

Ornstein said on the Five YouTube channel: “Right now, to my knowledge, Manchester United are not able to move on very much at all.

“You speak to people around the club and there seems to be quite a clear sense that they might have to sell before they can buy.

“While there’s uncertainty over the ownership situation, it could take departures to free up the funds for acquisitions. When you look at who and what areas, definitely the striker role. But the longer this goes on, a situation like Harry Kane may be more complicated.

“You’ve got players like Victor Osimhen, but that’s huge money.”

On the takeover specifically, Ornstein added: “It feels that this process has become a bit of a mess. Certainly it’s not ideal for Manchester United. Maybe it’s ideal for the Glazers if they are going to achieve the price that they want.

“That won’t be music to the ears of United fans unless they depart in full. But it’s affecting what United can do in the market.”

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