Report: Qatar takeover of Manchester United expected in October

Sheikh Jassim bin Hammad Al Thani of Qatar is expected to complete his takeover of Manchester United by mid-October, according to reports by The Sun.

It is expected that an announcement of the Qatar takeover may come as early as next month, ending a reign of terror by The Glazers that dates back to 2005.

The bidding war came down to two parties months ago, which was the Qatari royal and Sir Jim Ratcliffe. At one point, it even seemed that frustration built up over the progress of the ownership of the club so much that the Qatari’s offered a take-it-or-leave-it bid for The Glazers. There was even suggestions last month that the Glazers were not 100% sure on if they wanted to sell the club despite publicising it during last season. Ratcliffe, who also owns OGC Nice, was vying for a majority share that would have kept the Glazers at the club in some capacity as he was unable to outright match the bid that Sheikh Jassim and his team were able to offer.

It has been an excruciatingly long saga regarding the takeover. Perhaps the Glazer’s have decided that too much re-investment is needed to un-do all of the inadequate maintenance of the club they have overseen over the years. An entirely new stadium or a major re-development of Old Trafford would cost around £2billion, the club training base in Carrington would also require upgrading as well as clearing outstanding debts that are currently at £725million. Lastly, the funding for transfers in order to keep the club competitive would also be expected during this time.