Sheikh Jassim has already outlined Man Utd takeover plan as bombshell update issued | Football | Sport

Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s stint as Manchester United co-owner hasn’t produced the instant success many fans expected. Nevertheless, the British billionaire has highlighted the long-term groundwork laid during his stewardship, which he is confident will yield results down the line. Ratcliffe, 72, secured approval to purchase almost 30 per cent of United’s shares for £1.3billion in December 2023 following a protracted takeover battle.

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, the son of Qatar’s former emir, was understood to be his main rival throughout the proceedings. The lack of immediate success under Ratcliffe’s stewardship may have left some fans wondering what might have happened had Sheikh Jassim succeeded with his bid instead. However, the Qatari businessman had previously disclosed his ambitions whilst competing for control.

In a statement released during the takeover struggle, Jassim and his advisers set out their key aims for revitalising the club. Their blueprint focused mainly on transforming facilities to cutting-edge standards, whilst stressing the purchase would be entirely debt-free.

“The bid plans to return the club to its former glories,” read the statement. “The bid will be completely debt free, via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports.

“The vision of the bid is for Manchester United to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world.”

Sheikh Jassim’s aspirations and Ratcliffe’s objectives for United have so far shown a striking alignment. Ratcliffe swiftly set about implementing his modernisation plan for United’s infrastructure, which included a £50million revamp of the Carrington training ground.

Improvements to the training facilities were already underway before Ratcliffe joined the club. However, the outdated facilities had long been identified as an issue, with Cristiano Ronaldo publicly criticising the club’s lack of action on this front after returning for a second stint.

Plans for a new 100,000-seat stadium are also moving forward, with Ratcliffe at the helm of these discussions. Sheikh Jassim, who preferred to buy United outright rather than just a stake, is also thought to have had plans to enhance the matchday venue.

There is also the crucial matter of player recruitment, with United spending over £400m on the squad since Ratcliffe took over. This is one area of investment that can truly yield immediate results.

Talk of a potential Saudi takeover has gained fresh traction after Turki Alalshikh issued a cryptic update on social media, claiming that a new bid was at an ‘advanced’ stage.

He wrote: “The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor … I hope he’s better than the previous owners.”

Ratcliffe, meanwhile, stressed the need for patience during a recent interview with The Times, saying: “There are two halves to a football team – there is the business side and the sports side. The biggest correlation, like it or not, between results and any external factor, is profitability.

“The more cash you have got, the better squad you can build. It’s like a Formula One car, the better car you can build, the quicker you go. The better your squad, the better your football should be. So a lot of what we have done in the first year is spend an awful lot of time putting the club on a sustainable, healthy footing.

“If you look at our results for last year we have the highest revenues ever. Profitability, the second highest ever. We’re not seeing all the benefits of the restructuring that we’ve done in this set of results, and we were not in the Champions League. Those numbers will get better.

“Manchester United will become the most profitable football club in the world, in my view, and from that will stem, I hope, a long-term, sustainable, high level of football.”