QATARI Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani wants Brazilian superstar Neymar to spearhead his Manchester United revolution IF he wins the battle to control Old Trafford.
Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos group both put in their THIRD bids for the club just before Friday’s 10pm deadline, with the Qatari banker eyeing a swoop for Neymar.
Sheikh Jassim’s revised proposal is understood to be worth up to £5.5billion for full ownership of the club PLUS a huge extra sum for rebuilding Old Trafford and the Carrington training ground.
But Sheikh Jassim’s entourage is already sounding out their fellow Qatari owners of PSG in a bid to land Neymar as the new face of United.
Neymar, who moved to Ligue 1 in a £198m deal from Barcelona in 2017, has two years left on his current PSG contract.
His relationship with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe has been problematic at times and it is believed the South American, on a staggering £490,000-a-WEEK, would be keen on a move to the Prem.
Landing Neymar would be a huge coup for Sheikh Jassim, who feels his bid, which would leave United debt-free for the first time in two decades, represents the best option for the club and fans.
But with Sir Jim and Ineos also making their pitch – with the options of a purchase of the Glazers’ 60 per cent stake and another offer for a slightly lower share which would see Joel and Avram Glazer remain involved – it means the family that has run United for 18 years must now decide if they REALLY want to sell.
Despite the prospect of the two Glazer siblings staying, Ineos insist the Ratcliffe bid would ensure his control of the club.
That’s even if he did not drive out the current co-chairmen.
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Four US hedge funds, including Elliott Management and the Carlyle group, are willing to provide finance for the Glazers to stay on, although their offers will only be assessed if the two main bids are rejected.
The Glazers value United at £6bn but the club’s share capitalisation value on the New York Stock Exchange fell 2.5 per cent to £2.6bn yesterday after initial rises in expectation of a sale were reversed by close of business.
