Why Sheikh Jassim pulled out of Manchester United takeover as fresh conversation comes to light

Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani withdrew his offer to buy Manchester United because he was "conscious of overpaying for the club" - according to the co-founder of Raine Group, the bank that oversaw the sale process.

Jassim was one of the leading candidates to purchase the club from the Glazers after the Americans announced in November 2022 that they would be "commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives". It was presumed to be the start of a slow exit plan from Old Trafford for United's owners.

However, in late 2023 it was Ineos CEO Ratcliffe who eventually struck a deal and acquired a minority stake in United after Jassim withdrew from the bidding process just weeks earlier. As a result, the motivations of the Qatari business were questioned, with sections of the Old Trafford fanbase questioning whether Jassim had actually provided proof of funds for a potential purchase of the 20-time English champions.

But according to Joe Ravitch, the co-founder of Raine - who were appointed to supervise the sales process, Jassim was "very real" in his intention to buy United and tabled "very serious bids" to make an outright.

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"We met Jassim. He was in New York. He’s a lovely guy; a very smart guy," explained Ravitch, in an interview with The Times. "The Qataris were very real. They were very smart guys, very thoughtful.

"I don’t know why they didn’t appreciate the value [of the club] but we were not their adviser. We tried as the seller to explain the value to them, and they put what they thought was a series of very serious bids on the table."

However, Ravitch