The Sunday Mirror today reports that Qatar Holdings “an investment vehicle for the Qatari Royal Family” is prepared to make a £1.5 billion bid for Manchester United. The story, not far removed from the realms of speculation, suggests that the family will add United to its portfolio of investments, including Harrods and Chelsea Barracks.
However, it is clear that Qatar is using football to establish credibility and a global profile for the country that has grown rich on natural gas exports over the past decade. Qatar ‘won’ the rights to the FIFA 2022 World Cup recently and established a £125 million five-year sponsorship deal with FC Barcelona.
But even if the takeover happens there are serious questions to be answered. Despite the vast wealth that the Qatar Royal Family could bring to United, including wiping out all debt and handing Sir Alex Ferguson a large transfer budget according to the Mirror, the country has a patchy record on human rights. According to human rights reports forced labour and the death penalty are common in an absolute monarchy with effectively no democracy. Homosexuality is also illegal.
To date the Glazer family has shown no indication that it is likely to sell United. However, speculation that the Qatari’s have already effectively invested in United by paying down the Payment-in-Kind (PIK) loans has grown recently. The Glazers paid off the £243 million loans last month but have not confirmed how they raised the money. However, the Premier League has not been notified of any change of ownership at the club and no confirmation of this speculation has been established.
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a known devil is better than an unknown angel if u ask me..
i would welcome them with open arms as long as the clubs debt is cleared, fergie as transfer funds and they leave the club how it is with the board and fergie
As a Bahraini, I have to say NOOO!! The club will turn to Man City like this. They dont care about the club, all they want is money!!
If those are the downsides of a Qatari ownership, I’d readily have them in tommorow. We need to re-assert ourselves in the transfer market. The last few years that have seen us lose players who wanted to sign for us coz of inferior transfer budgets have been miserable. Fergie has done incredibly well to keep us floating but he need not stretch himself. If anything, we should have owners who will happily invest in the squadd and give Fergie onee last hurrah before he sets of to the sunset years. Give us the Qataris please.
Nope..Glazer is bad enough.
Friggin Qatar Holdings know Jack about footy, they’d just want a reward for their investment, if not forthcoming then who knows what they’d fuck up then.
As long as we have owners who won’t saddle us with huge levels of debt and treat fans with contempt, and provided they let the manager get on with running the club whilst they stay in the background, I don’t care where the owners come from.
Suggest you have a look at :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Qatar
So search your conscience and soul before you only look at the readdies
What Doug said.
They’re scumbags.
To be honest I think they would be amazing owners. With the glazers it’s all about money, but this is the Qatar royal family, they just want to raise the profile of Qatar, to do this they would have to be winning things! They do not care about the money and would heavily invest! And they would keep doing so at least until the 2022 world cup. And unlike city, we CAN attract big names!
No we should not welcome these Quatari´s or whatever there called, all they are interested in is boosting the way people see them same as the shower down at Eastlands. Fine with untold millions you can buy any player you want but that doesn’t make a team, plus do we know if they will interfere or not in the daily workings of the club.
Strange rumours like this have appeared since they’ve gotten the 2022 World Cup, there is also a rumour that the United in question isn’t us but Newcastle United.
Would gay people be banned from Old Trafford
Having a clear conscience counts a lot.
Besides the Glazers haven’t been all that bad owners apart from the crippling debts…
Much rather have poor owners who stay the hell out of the footballing concerns than rich ones who butt in – the wreck at Chelsea is an example in point.
I would prefer them to the Glazers, for a few reasons.
They may not know any more about football than the Glazers, but at least they’re paying for it… and not borrowing against the clubs assets, just to seize control against the fans wishes… when Mephytical Malcolm finally claimed full control of United, it felt like the club had been mugged and hijacked… the system said everything was above board and legal, but it felt completely criminal to me… I hate those fuckers, and as much as I want rid of them, it will give me the shits to see them make a large profit from their ownership.
I also think that this Qatari bunch may be a bit more concerned with their image… they may be a bit more willing to get along with the fans, to be popular owners… the Glazers couldn’t care less what the fans think… they had shown that many times over… and it was never any secret that they were in it simply for the money, at the clubs expence. This Qatari lot are at the stage where money isn’t the main issue… they’re at a level of weath, that is bordering on the ridiculous… it’s just about finding things and projects to do with all that money now… United is not an investment, it will never make the kind of money that matters to people of their wealth, but owning the best team in the world does matter.
The human rights issue is valid… but it’s the same everywhere… would we prefer Chinese owners?… they’re no better, nor is any of the middle eastern countries… or for that matter, are our governments or the yanks squeaky clean when it comes to human rights?
Anyway… There’s two kinds of rich… there’s the Glazer, Lerner, Ashley, millionaire/billionaire… the ones that can afford a football club… just… for most clubs, they’re limited by the clubs ability to pay it’s own way… and to be honest, that kind of billionaire would be perfect for United if he/she met a couple of criteria… was a real fan of the club… was willing to leave football matters to the club… and didn’t own United with the aim of making them money… unlike other clubs, United isn’t a money drain, it’s a money maker, that can not only pay it’s own way, but generates enough wealth to compete at the highest level… a football fans dream… fuck me, if only I could afford it.
Then there’s the stinking rich… Abramovich, the Bitters Arab owners, and these Qataris, etc… there really is no way to justify that kind of wealth in my opinion, but that’s beside the point… ideally, I’d like us to be owned by the supporters, but that opens us up to the same problems as Barca/Real… with unscrupulous types electioneering to be in charge… the Abramovich model brings money, but also a warped ego, that can’t resist meddling/fucking things up… and Chumpski fans are kidding themselves, if they think he’s a fine citizen to be proud of.
If we can’t own it ourselves, and run it like a club and not a circus… or find a rich fan to own it and run it for the good of the fans… then I think this kind of filthy stinking rich bunch is the only other option.
Unlike Abrmaovich, I think they’d be honest enough with themselves to know, that they haven’t got a clue how to run the football side of things and leave it to the pros.
Manchester United is the benchmark in English football… the thinking is, if you finish the season ahead of United, then you probably win the league… with the Glazers in charge, United will not grow beyond that thinking… which is fine as long as things stay as they are… but things are changing…
The Bitters have ambitious owners… they may be fools with more money than sense, and not see that stability is important to building success, but none the less, they’re spending ridiculously in pursuit of trophies, and that’s upsetting the financial balance, along with the stupid money being paid by Real and Barca… United are hanging on for now, but only just. We may win this years title, but be honest… we would all be very surprised, and no one thinks we’ll win the Champs League. Where’s the confidence?
United deserves better owners than the Glazers… whether it’s a true fan of the club or just owners with more money than they need… all we want is for the club to keep what it earns, and be allowed to spend it on itself… any owner that did that, would be popular.
think its only a matter of time before we get bought out.. mainly due to looming introduction of fifa financial fair play rules.
providing fifa dont decide to turn a blind eye to the ‘creative accounting’ some have speculated, then whats happened with chelski/bitters will soon become thing of past. and a clubs value/success will have a far stronger link to its ability to generate profits. putting united straight to the top of the tree.
these new rules should give united a massive advantage over every other prem team.. in fact every team bar real/barca. even they will suffer tho.. no more state sponsorship!
obviously we will only see the benefits of the new rules by reducing outgoings.. ie interest payments. so to me it seams pretty inevitable that we are going to get bought out.. and the qataris seam a decent fit what with the world cup/vast wealth.
on the human rights issue.. yes its appalling, as is blatters asertion that gays should have to curb their enthusiasm during the WC. but at least giving them the WC got people talking about it.. and theyll be lots of pressure on qatar over next 10 years to sort it out. involvement with a club like united will only add to that pressure, so maybe its not such a bad thing
With the greatest respect, think this through!
When and where was this “story” leaked.Why is it the always trust worthy financially knowledgable Sunday Mirror is only news outlet carrying this story?
Erm possibly no football of significance to write about, So make up a story about the biggest football club in the world and its plight.
Well they have to keep up the destruction of rain forests.
I never vote for anything without seeing a prospectus, good to see nearly 80% of people vote blindly.
no i wouldn’t – they know less about football and managing a sports business than the glazers. no.
Heeell no! As much as I hate the glazers, if it weren’t for the huge ass debt, the way the club is being run is fine by me. Having it turn to a vanity toy for some people too rich to be true would be… I don’t know… bad? I’m too angry about the poll results to think straight…
The Quatar Royal family would not invest in Manchester United to make a big profit, it would be for western goodwill.
Manchester United is already the best run club and one of the best known football brands. Bigger returns would be available from a sleeping giant.
It’s been a while since United had a really good owner, isn’t it? Martin Edwards was no saint….
Yes. No debt and money for transfers can only be a good thing, can’t it? Of course it’s not an ideal situation but it’s got to be a better situation. There aren’t exactly many other realistic options after all.
Still, without more information, it’s impossible to have a proper, informed opinion on the matter.
the qatari’s are doing it to raise their profile and cause its a sound investment vehicle. Manchester United are the most profitable club in the world and generate the most revenue (if you take away TV money). given how the rich in europe keep getting richer and the poor will maintain their status quo, unless something freaky like new Arab Owners happens, the likelihood is that manchester United will always be successful both on and off the pitch. it is safe to assume that united’s stock will continue to rise, while constantly being able to make a profit. 30-40 yrs from now when their oil money runs out, they will still have United and its money. this is why the glazers bought us and continue to own us. in the long run, they will make hundreds of millions if not billions off united
fuck human rights, i want ronaldo baCK
Get em in lively
ronaldo back plus removal of benders equals lkhf paradise
Stay away, dictatorship wealth, why dont we ask mugabe to look after the club!! Their wealth belongs to the citizens of qatar who have to survive without human rights. its like getting in to bed with the mob. They have no thoughts for anything but ultimate wealth and power. Not the type of people that I want running the club. Don’t get me wrong, lots of money etc would be lovely but they would tear the heart and soul from the club. I dont like the glazers but at least they only seem to involvve themseveles in the commercial running of the club and they leave footballing matters to fergie and Gill.
http://msnsport.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_6606597,00.html
I swear… if I came across one of the Glazers in public, I could honestly see myself beating the fucker to within a inch of his life.
FUCK… I hate those cunts… !!!
A few new rumours doing the rounds about a meeting with United & the Qatari’s
So much so the club had to come out and deny it
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/869818/manchester-united-deny-qatar-takeover-talk?cc=5739