Furious Qataris insist they met £4.5bn Man Utd valuation and provided proof of funds

Martin Macdonald

• 19 Jan 2024 10:20 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United sensationally accused the team behind the failed Qatari bid for the club of failing to meet the £4.5 billion asking price on Wednesday, and also told shareholders that the Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani-led outfit failed to submit “customary financing commitment letters”. In other words, the club accused the Qataris of failing to provide a guarantee of their funding.

However, according to the Daily Mail, these accusations are strongly refuted by the Qatari bid team, who withdrew from the process to gain full control over United in October.

Their pull-out left Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the sole bidder for the club and he ultimately completed a deal for 25 percent of the team.

The Qataris have been left furious by these allegations and, according to the Mail, now doubt whether the Glazer family ever had any intentions of facilitating a sale of the club to them.

The report adds that the Qatari bid team could seek “a corrective statement” from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In filings to shareholders on Wednesday, United made their accusations which, according to the Qataris, failed to provide an accurate description of how proceedings played out.

“Bidder A”, according to the documents, did not submit “customary financing commitment letters” but the Qataris insist there was a bank guarantee from the Chief Executive of the Qatar National Bank (QNB).

The bid team has also been left disappointed that no mention of Sheikh Jassim’s £1 bn infrastructure investment pledge was made to shareholders.

On the other hand, shareholders were informed by United that the Ratcliffe-led bid would inject £237m from the get-go.

The Qatari bid of what was reported to be £4bn for full control of the club was rejected by the Glazers but sources told the Daily Mail that the fee they offered was actually higher.

Man Utd profit forecast slashed

Meanwhile, the club have drastically cut their revenue and profit forecasts for 2024.

They posted record revenues in the first quarter - ending September 30 2023 - but elimination from the Champions League and the subsequent loss in broadcast revenues have led United to readjust their forecasts from £650m - £680m down to £635m - £665m.

The earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) figure has come down from £140m - £165m to £125m - £150m in a blow to new part-owner Ratcliffe. The club net losses were £25.8m compared to £26.5m last year.