Is PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi going to take over Manchester United?

Friday is the first deadline set by the Glazer family for potential buyers to submit their proposals to purchase Manchester United. Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of PSG, also leads the Qatar Sports Investment (QSi), and is among the potential buyers of the Old Trafford club.

Al-Khelaifi’s organisation belongs to the Qatari government and is in charge of investing in sport. After the 2022 World Cup, Qatar’s aim is to look for new opportunities in the Premier League. Tottenham were previously mentioned and for a few weeks now the option of United is also a genuine possibility.

The issue is that UEFA regulations prevent two teams belonging to the same owner from playing in the same competition, so QSi would make it impossible for PSG and Manchester United to play each other if they belonged to them. The only way for it to work would be for one to play in the Champions League and the other in the Europa League or Europa Conference League, but that remains unrealistic.

Qatari bidders interested in United

Solutions to this problem are being sought. One is that QSi does not buy the whole club, but part of it. Another is for QSi to take a stake. This has already been done recently by acquiring 20 per cent of Sporting Braga in Portugal. There is also the option of QIA (Qatar Investment Authority) making the offer. In theory, it is a different entity to QSi, although the highest member and the head in both cases is the same person: the Emir of Qatar.

Private investors from the Qatari royal family are considering making the bid. In this case, Al-Khelaifi would have nothing to do with it, although being a high-profile football person with contacts in the game means it is likely that he would be contacted for advice and help.

Ratcliffe a potential buyer

Jim Ratcliffe, the owner of INEOS, is another candidate to purchase the famous club, although his arrival would have to be financed in part by the banks and that is something that supporters of the club are not keen on.

The other alternatives that are also emerging are American funds and one that would involve Saudi Arabia. The Glazers are said to have put a starting price of more than €6billion, an amount that the buyers, including Qatar, consider very high. According to them, the market price would be well below that, approximately €4billion.