LONDON (Reuters) – Qatari investors are preparing to make a bid to buy Premier League club Manchester United “in the coming days”, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the deal.
The report added that the consortium will submit an initial bid for the club by the end of the week, and that officials from the Qatar Investment Authority are helping with preparations for the bid.
Reuters has contacted Manchester United for comment.
Jim Ratcliffe’s company INEOS formally entered the bidding process to buy United last month after the club’s U.S. owners, the Glazer family, said in November they had begun looking at options including new investment or a potential sale.
Earlier this month, the Daily Mail newspaper reported that Qatari investors are planning to make a huge bid to buy Premier League club Manchester United.
The Daily Mail report stated the interested investors are separate from Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), which owns Paris St Germain, and that the money will come from an “individual fund” rather than a sovereign wealth fund.
United, managed by Erik ten Hag, are third in the league on 46 points after 23 games, two points behind Manchester City and five adrift of leaders Arsenal.
(This story has been corrected to say Qatar Investment Authority, not Qatar Sports Investments, in paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Aadi Nair; Editing by Jan Harvey and Christian Radnedge)
