THE Glazer family tried to persuade PSG chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi to get fellow Qatari Sheikh Jassim to up his bid for the club.
In an astonishing new twist to the ownership saga that has now lasted six MONTHS, it emerged that the American family reached out to Al-Khelaifi believing he could persuade Sheikh Jassim to bid higher.
Earlier this week, the Qatari banker confirmed he had made a fifth and final bid – believed to be around £5.5bn – and that he would “no longer engage” with the process.
But it now appears that the Glazers and their deal-arrangers, the US-based Raine Group, went out of their way to attempt to levy up the Sheikh’s bid.
Sheikh Jassim has made his bids for full and 100 per cent control of the club.
The only serious rival is Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos petro-chemicals giant, which is offering around £3bn for a majority stake of just over 50 per cent.
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Earlier suggestions that Al-Khelaifi had played a significant role in Sheikh Jassim’s bid were being strenuously dismissed on Thursday night.
Sources close to the PSG President, who is also the head of the powerful European Club Association, insisted he had “zero, zero, zero” official or even unofficial role in the bid team.
That was also the line from Sheikh Jassim’s advisers who made clear Al-Khelaifi would have no role at all if the bid was successful.
Sun Sport revealed last month that the Glazers were edging towards accepting the bid by Ratcliffe despite an at times strained relationship between the businessman and Raine executives.
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Crucially, though, that offer would also allow current United co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer to remain at the club, although giving their four siblings an exit strategy.
An Ineos victory would also spell the end for current chief executive Richard Arnold and other directors.
Ratcliffe is understood to believe that having a majority stake would effectively give him the full control he wants, although some city analysts question that view.
Reaching out so blatantly to Al-Khelaifi, who did advise Sheikh Jassim on club ownership at the start of the process, is a further signal that the Glazers might not necessarily want to sell to Ineos.
But the entreaties do not appear to have paid off with Sheikh Jassim’s bid still significantly below the Glazers’ £6bn valuation of the club.
However, some fans remain confident the Qataris will end up agreeing a deal.
One said: “It seems it’s happening 👀.”
Agreeing, another person added: “The big boys are getting involved there’s no way Qatar will want to lose to a guy like Ratcliffe.”
While others slammed the Glazers for trying to get Al-Khelaifi involved.
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A social media user said: “What an absolute shame from [the] Glazers.”
And a second replied: “The Glazers are too greedy.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
