Qatar`s Sheikh Jassim wins bid to buy Manchester United

Qatar's Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has won the race to buy Manchester United, according to a report on a Qatari news site. Sheikh Jassim had been locked in a bidding war with British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe for control of ownership of the Premier League giants.

The chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank last week submitted a fifth and final offer to buy the 20-time English champions and, according to Al-Watan newspaper, has been chosen by United's current owners the Glazers as their preferred bid. Al-Watan posted on Twitter on Monday night that Sheikh Jassim's takeover bid has been a "success" and that an official announcement was imminent.

While the financials have not been disclosed, UK media reports say Sheikh Jassim's final bid submitted on June 7 was £5 billion for total control of United. The offer includes clearing a £1 billion debt and a fund solely for the club and surrounding community, according to an earlier report in The Guardian newspaper.

Ratcliffe, the chief of Ineos group and a boyhood United fan, had wanted to purchase around 60 per cent of the club. His offer comes with a proposal that would allow the Glazers to remain for a set time period ahead of a sourced buyout.

The Glazer family originally valued the club at £6 billion after it went on the market. Al-Watan's report that a decision by the Glazers will be announced soon will bring to a close one of the most protracted takeovers of a football club in recent times.

The US-based Glazer family are deeply unpopular among the United fan base and had announced in November that the board was exploring strategic alternatives for the future, with a full sale one option being considered.

Manchester United fans had been hoping for a quick resolution of the club's ownership as the team seem to have turned a corner this season. Under new manager Erik ten Hag, United won the League Cup, their first trophy in six years, finished third in the Premier League and narrowly lost out to Manchester City in this month's FA Cup final.

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