Sheikh Jassim and Qatar ‘to buy Tottenham’ if they miss out on Man Utd takeover

Ratcliffe leaves Old Trafford after Man Utd takeover talks

Sheikh Jassim will apparently look to buy Tottenham if he and his consortium miss out on Manchester United, it has been claimed. The Qatari billionaire is hoping to acquire the Red Devils, despite competition from Sir Jim Ratcliffe. However, should his bid to buy the club fail, then it looks like he’s prepared to turn to their Premier League rivals instead.

Sheikh Jassim confirmed his bid to buy United all the way back in February.

However, despite three rounds of bidding, it’s still unclear if the Qatari figure will succeed with Ratcliffe also firmly in the race.

And ESPN journalist Mark Ogden claims to have got wind of Sheikh Jassim and his entourage potentially setting their sights on Tottenham should their attempts to purchase the Red Devils fail.

“PSG was a great move [for the club’s Qatari owners] because it’s Paris, it’s a great city, but I think they’ve found over the years that Ligue 1 is just not big enough,” he told The United Stand.

“They want the Premier League footprint.

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“Somebody told me recently, they said that if the Qataris don’t buy Manchester United, they’ll be back and they might end up buying Tottenham.

“He said, look, if you’ve got Manchester City owned by Abu Dhabi, you’ve got Newcastle owned by Saudi Arabia, if Qataris maybe buy Tottenham, then you’ve got three clubs who can pull away.

“Every year, it would be United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal fighting for fourth spot, which is quite a terrifying prospect for [them].”

Tottenham would arguably be an even trickier project than United.

While they boast a fantastic stadium, they’re currently without a permanent manager following the departure of Antonio Conte earlier in the season.

Ryan Mason has been placed in the job until the end of the season, but isn’t expected to secure the role on a full-time basis.

Tottenham also have a squad full of deadwood, too.

And they’ve missed out on qualifying for the Champions League, with Spurs now in a fight to ensure they play in the Europa League next season instead.

For now, however, Sheikh Jassim continues to hold an interest in United.

There were reports last week stating Ratcliffe was the frontrunner to secure a takeover, partly due to his willingness to let two of the Glazer family members stay on in a reduced capacity.

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Under his rule, Joel and Avram would be allowed to keep a stake worth 20 per cent before cashing in further down the line.

But nothing has been decided yet and there’s still a chance Sheikh Jassim will get his wish of owning the Red Devils and their luxurious brand.

Meanwhile, Gary Neville recently opened up on the takeover process and once again pleaded for the Glazers to go.

“I’ve not heard the pledges that have been made by any of the bids,” he said.

“At the moment, there’s the Jim Ratcliffe bid, the Qatari bid and a number of US investment funds.

“I don’t want private equity into an English football club, I’ll be really clear. I don’t think it works.

“I think football is about emotion. Believe it or not, in Manchester, I have a partnership with a US private equity fund and in other sectors of life, I love international investment.

“But I think in football clubs, you can’t go into it purely because you want to see a return.

“When it comes to the current bids, at this moment in time, I think Jim Ratcliffe’s bid has its merits, the Qatari bid has its own merits.

“My main concern at this moment in time is that the Glazer family sell and that they remove themselves from the club. They’ll make a lot of money, well done for that.

“They’ve proved to be very astute business people but now it’s time to hand over control because the club has deteriorated under their ownership.”

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