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Sheikh Jassim is reportedly set to complete a full takeover of Manchester United by mid-October in a move worth £6 billion.
The Sun reports that Sheikh Jassim has beaten competition from INEOS CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe and will become the Red Devils' new owner. Ratcliffe was willing to allow the current owners, the Glazers, to retain a stake in the club.
The Glazers were keen to continue holding shares but were warned by senior officials to expect a mass backlash from Manchester United fans. Those fans have spent most of the Glazers' ownership protesting against the latter due to their handling of the club.
Sheikh Jassim is reportedly doing his due diligence on the Premier League giants before a full sale is concluded. The change in ownership looks set to take place in mid-October, with an announcement potentially coming next month.
The Glazers put Manchester United up for sale last November as they sought 'strategic alternatives to advance the club's growth'. However, it has been a long-winding process with fans and bidders becoming frustrated with the time it was taking.
The Old Trafford faithful have wanted the Glazers to leave for several years. The American business family placed significant debts on the club when purchasing it in 2005 for £800 million.
It's claimed that the most recent financial figures show that the gross debt stands at £725 million, which is the highest it has been since 2010. The servicing of the debt has cost Manchester United over £1 billion.
Sheikh Jassim is prepared to wipe out all these debts and will not take any dividend payments from the club. He's planning to upgrade Old Trafford and the Carrington Training Ground. He will also invest in the squad as he plans to return the Red Devils to one of Europe's major powerhouses.
Gary Neville hits out at Glazers over sale process of Manchester United
The sale of Manchester United has been a long and exhausting one with many twists and turns. Both Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe were touted as frontrunners during the saga.
They were part of five rounds of bidding for the club overseen by The Raine Group. It now looks as though Sheikh Jassim has won the race for the Red Devils, and the Qatari banker will purchase the club for £6 billion.
However, Gary Neville has found fault with the Glazers throughout the sale. He has been critical of their handling of the entire process and took aim at their ownership, telling BBC 5Live:
"Embarrassing … But it’s what they have done, drag everything out, it's always in their best interests and not in the interests of the football club."
There has been little to no update whatsoever from the Premier League giants about the sale. Fans have had to learn about its process through media outlets. Neville said about that:
"The idea of Manchester United Football Club with its millions of fans around the world not being not being updated by owners on the ownership sale is quite frankly not good enough, but fitting with how they have operated for 20 years now."
Red Devils fans have held several protests during the sale process, even forcing the close of the club's megastore. They may finally have got their wishes in seeing the Glazer's 18-year reign about to potentially end.
