Sheikh Jassim reportedly ‘can still offer INEOS an exit route’ from Manchester United after he had a ‘three-day plan’ to ‘revolutionise’ Old Trafford.
Towards the end of 2023, the Glazer family put Man Utd up for sale and this prolonged process dragged on for over a year until a resolution was reached.
INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatar’s Jassim emerged as the standout candidates to buy Man Utd and they tussled for months before the British billionaire won the race to buy a stake in Man Utd.
Jassim and his team submitted several bids to Man Utd and were only interested in a full takeover. Ratcliffe initially intended to buy a majority stake, but he eventually amended his offer and purchased a 27.7% stake.
At the start of this year, Ratcliffe’s arrival was confirmed and he took control of footballing operations at Old Trafford.
This was viewed a much-needed fresh start for the Red Devils, but Ratcliffe has had a rough first year at Man Utd.
READ: Ranking Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Man Utd mistakes: 1) Dan Ashworth, 7) Busby Babes, 13) Being a Grinch
Ratcliffe’s arrival was met with immense positivity, but this has quickly subsided as he has made controversial decisions. He has sanctioned mass redundancies, hiked ticket prices, taken Sir Alex Ferguson’s global ambassador role away and scrapped their staff Christmas party.
The INEOS supremo is being heavily criticised and a report from The Daily Mail claims Jassim ‘planned to revolutionise Man United in just three days’ if his takeover was successful.
‘The situation is being monitored closely but there is no gloating here in Doha, only deep sadness and a regret over what might have been.
‘It was, Mail Sport can reveal, not meant to be like this. Plans for the rebirth of Manchester United, fuelled by vast wealth and some of the finest sporting and finance brains on the planet, had already been carefully drafted.
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‘The strategy for ‘Project Ruby’ as they had named it, went like this:
‘Day One: Announce takeover.
‘Day Two: Announce that all debt has been removed, that the club has been taken off the New York Stock Exchange and that it is no longer answerable to far-away stakeholders.
‘Day Three: Announce fully-funded plans for new stadium. As simple as that. Three days to change the club’s history. In one quick movement, the life-sucking debt burden on United’s proud shoulders – a legacy of a leveraged takeover that is estimated to have cost the club close to £1bn to service – lifted in a heartbeat. A clean break. As for the stadium, there would be no attempt to grab any money from the taxpayer or confusion over whether this would be a refurbishment or a rebuild. The funds were in place to build one of the biggest and best venues on the planet.’
The detailed report also boldly claims ‘Jassim can still offer INEOS an exit route’ as he is ‘still there’.
‘Perhaps, however, this is not the end of the story. ‘Sheikh Jassim is still a rich guy,’ explained one advisor. ‘He is still a United fan. He is not going to rush off and try another Premier League club.
‘If the opportunity to buy the whole of Manchester United arose again at some point in the future it is hard to see there not being a big level of interest. The plans are still there.’
