Qatar failed to provide financial guarantees to buy Manchester United

The Qatari bidder for Manchester United, Sheikh Jassim, was unable to prove he had sufficient finance to be able to do a deal.

In filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission to confirm Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of 27.69% of the club, Jassim (referred to as “Bidder A”) is described as having failed to respond to requests to show the source of his money, as per The Guardian.

It’s one thing having the money to buy United, it’s another thing proving when it is coming from and there was always that doubt with the Qatar bid – fronted by a man nobody had seen before.

Moreover, Sir Jim Ratcliffe issued a Christmas Day deadline for acceptance of his final offer. The announcement was made on Christmas Eve.

The filing shows that Sheikh Jassim failed to submit the “customary financing commitment letters”, despite several requests for this information.

Qatar withdrew their bid 15 October, leaving it becoming a one horse race with Sir Jim Ratcliffe finishing as winner.

Ratcliffe is now waiting on the Premier League to ratify his bid to become minority owner at Manchester United. INEOS will then take control of football operations.

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