Manchester United expected to close $9.15bn sale to Qatari royal
Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Jim Ratcliffe, CEO of UK-based petrochemicals company INEOS, have been competing to buy the soccer team.
The owners of Manchester United are reportedly set to announce a 7.2-7.3 billion pound ($9.15 billion) sale of the club to Qatari royal Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, after a nine-month protracted sale process, the BBC reported Sunday.
The chairman of Cardiff City, a Welsh soccer club, Mehmet Dalman spoke to the BBC on Sunday about the rising costs of soccer teams, especially in the English Premier League.
"I've been meeting a lot with US private equity funds and the valuation of football clubs is going through the roof," Dalman said. "Americans are determined to come into this market quite heavily.”
"I spoke to the owners of Leeds when we were there, and Championship clubs are valued at three times their revenue, give or take. Manchester United are going to announce their sale at 7.2 billion-7.3 billion pounds, which is roughly 10 times their revenue,” he added.
