Sheikh Jassim withdraws offer to buy Manchester United over Glazers’ high price

Sheikh Jassim has withdrawn his offer to buy Manchester United, leaving Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the only bidder remaining for the club.

The Qatari businessman, who made five offers for the club in an attempt to complete a takeover, has quit the process after final discussions with the current owners, the Glazer family.

Sheikh Jassim believes the Glazers’ demands are outlandish and hugely inflated after submitting a final bid that was almost double the club’s current market value of $3.2bn. He had also pledged to invest a further $1.7bn to finance a new or redeveloped stadium and training facilities, along with investment in players and the community as well as clearing the club’s current debt.

Sheikh Jassim had been aiming for a 100 per cent buyout of United whereas the Ineos billionaire Ratcliffe had submitted an offer for the 69 per cent share owned by the Glazer family.

Ratcliffe, a lifelong United fan, then submitted an alternative offer to buy a minority stake in the Old Trafford club.

United have been for sale for 11 months with the Glazers thought to be holding out for higher offers for the club and the six siblings who inherited shares in the club from their late father, Malcolm, divided as to whether to sell or not.