Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani is a potential new owner of Manchester United after he bid for the club. So who is this person and how rich is he?
Sheikh Jassim is the son of Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani. Sheikh Hamad was the former Qatari Prime Minister and head of the Qatar Investment Authority. He was known as someone who bought a lot of real estate in London. He even gave £2.6 million in cash to then-Crown Prince Charles.
Jassim is also a Qatari billionaire and was supposedly born around 1982. He attended the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, UK, and graduated as an officer cadet. He then chased a career where he worked with multiple banks and companies as a chairman, director, or board member.
Many close sources revealed that he is a longtime Manchester United fan, apparently first supporting the club in 1992. His father was also involved in running Paris Saint Germain, another Qatari-owned club.
What is Sheikh Jassim’s net worth and what does he do?
It is said his net worth could be just over £1 billion. But his family, the royal family of Qatar has around £275 billion net worth. While the bid is in his name, there is no doubt that he has the backing of his nation’s wealth at his disposal.
Sheikh Jasim’s primary role in his country is as chairman of the biggest bank in his country, Qatar Islamic Bank. According to Forbes, he grew the bank into the third most valuable company in his homeland. He has also been a board member at Credit Suisse, which QSI has stakes in. It is one of the most powerful investment banks in the world.
Sheikh Jassim is now seen as the forerunner to buying the club after the Glazer family finally decided to sell the club. His initial bid is said to have been at £4 to 4.5 billion, around 2 billion less than the Glazer’s demand.
The bid is said to be similar in value to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid through his company INEOS. Both were rejected as the Glazers want at least £6 billion. According to Forbes, the English Premier League club’s value stands at $4.6 billion, with yearly revenue of $663 million.
Why are the Glazers selling the club?
The Glazer family bought the Red Devils team in May of 2005 with full ownership. But with some of the family members selling their shares in the following years, they now have an estimated 69% ownership stake. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is aiming to only buy the shares of the Glazers while the Qatari wants 100 percent control of the club.
The main reason the Glazers are selling is that they are looking to make a huge profit. After years of disillusionment, the Red Devil fans are angry at the owners for a lack of funding, riddling the club with debts and the number of dividends they have taken. They have repeatedly protested at this and it seems this has also led to the Glazers looking for a way out while making huge profits.
What is Sheikh Jassim offering?
The Qatari offered a new bid yesterday rumored to be around £5 billion. While this is still less than the Glazer’s valuation, it would still be the highest fee ever for a sports franchise. Shiekh Jassim is also said to include a clause in his bid that could attract the Glazer’s eyes very much.
He is said to offer the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an NFL team owned by the Glazers, to play regular season games in the Middle East. This could add extra financial revenue to the Glazers and more popularity to the NFL as a whole and as such a great bargaining tool.
Money is not a problem for Shiekh Jassim as he will have enough funds. He will have enough to spend on huge transfers, redeveloping Manchester United, and improving its training facilities. The main aim is to allow the club to return to the top of football.
They also promise to incorporate the fans into the management of the club. He will also pay off the almost £1 billion debt the club has accrued under the Glazers. The bid also promises to improve the infrastructure of the training center, the club stadium-Old Trafford and also the Manchester area nearby.
It’s safe to say if the Qatari bid wins, Man United fans could expect to see some huge changes and dream of a return to the top of football.
