The truth of Sheikh Jassim's Man Utd Mbappe move - Fabrizio Romano

Carlo Garganese

• 17 Oct 2023 12:55 BST
• 3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has revealed the truth behind Sheikh Jassim’s interest in signing Kylian Mbappe for Manchester United

Sheikh Jassim withdrew from the race to buy Man Utd last week, having submitted a new bid to the Glazer family, which was a fully cash bid that would have left the club debt-free in exchange for 100% control of the club.

Sheikh Jassim held further discussions with the Glazer family but his fresh proposal was rejected, which led to the Qatari billionaire backing out of the process after months of negotiations.

READ MORE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe set to buy 25% of Man Utd

Until then Sheikh Jassim had been the favourite to take over Man Utd, and he was expected to splash the cash on big-money signings.

One of the superstars who was said to be on his list was PSG’s Kylian Mbappe.

Romano has cleared up how much truth was in that.

What did Romano say?

“I can say that, despite links with Kylian Mbappe, it’s normal to have rumours like this when new owners could be coming in, but there was nothing concrete,” Romano said.

READ MORE: Qatari Sheikh Jassim WITHDRAWS from Man Utd takeover process

“For one thing, the takeover was never that close. Mbappe was also very clear in the summer that he wanted to stay at PSG for at least one more season.

“Still, I can say that Sheikh Jassim wanted to make a star signing in the summer, though I have no confirmation that Mbappe was on his list.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is emerging as the favourite in the Man Utd takeover process.

The drawn-out ownership battle over the Red Devils could be nearing its conclusion for now. According to Bloomberg, INEOS billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been selected as the preferred bidder by the Glazers.

However, there is a problem as far as Man Utd fans are concerned. The Glazers prefer Ratcliffe's bid because he revised his offer to only acquire a minority stake, meaning that the controversial American owners will stay firmly in control for the time being.

The Glazers do not want to relinquish their grip on the club as they would have had to do had Ratcliffe's rival, Sheikh Jassim, been successful with his 100 per cent takeover offer.