Jump directly to the content

THE BANKER behind Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Manchester United investment has insisted that the “Qataris were very real” as he opened up on the bidding war for the Red Devils.

After months of wrangling and going head-to-head with Sheikh Jassim, the Ineos chief finally purchased 27.7 per cent of the club in a deal worth £1.03billion.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe finally completed his deal to buy a stake in Man Utd
2
Sir Jim Ratcliffe finally completed his deal to buy a stake in Man UtdCredit: PA
He had joked that he was not sure that his rival bidder Sheikh Jassim existed
2
He had joked that he was not sure that his rival bidder Sheikh Jassim existedCredit: PA

The Qatari pulled out of the race after he was unable to agree a full takeover.

Ratcliffe was recently quizzed about his battle with Sheikh Jassim after the deal was finally rubber-stamped, and he cheekily joked that his rival does not exist.

The British billionaire responded with a cheeky dig, saying: “Still nobody's ever seen him, actually.

“The Glazers never met him. He never... I'm not sure he exists.”

READ MORE ON FOOTBALL

However, Joe Ravitch is the co-founder and partner at The Raine Group, the bank who brokered the deal, says that the Middle East bidder “was very real”.

The 62-year-old New Yorker is a former journalist before becoming a merchant banker and he has been involved in deals with Manchester City and Aston Villa previously.

The Manhattan-based bank he works for was then appointed by Roman Abramovich to sell Chelsea in 2022.

Just months after they finally completed the deal to sell the Blues to Todd Boehly and Clearlake, they were hired by the Glazers to sell United.

CHELTENHAM BETTING OFFERS - BEST FREE BET DEALS FOR THE FESTIVAL

Now he has opened up on that process during an interview with , and he is adamant that both Ratcliffe and the Qataris were very much in the running.

Ravitch said: “We met Jassim. He was in New York. He’s a lovely guy; a very smart guy. The Qataris were very real. They were very smart guys, very thoughtful.

'So refreshing', says Rio Ferdinand after interview with Erik ten Hag at Man Utd training ground

“I don’t know why they didn’t appreciate the value [of the club] but we were not their adviser.

“We tried as the seller to explain the value to them, and they put what they thought was a series of very serious bids on the table.”

The offer made was not enough, as Ravitch explained: “My clients [the Glazers] are also smart guys.

“We thought the value would be around $6.5 billion [about £5 billion], so we were kind of spot on with regards to where Ratcliffe ended up.

“But when the Washington Commanders [NFL team] went for $6 billion we all thought: ‘Well, United is the most important sports team in the world; more than a billion fans.

“The Commanders own one 32nd of the NFL. Their economics are severely limited by the commercial sharing caps placed on it by the league.

“We know that because the Glazers also own a NFL team. Therefore if someone is willing to pay six billion for the Commanders, someone should be willing to pay more for United..

“I think the Qataris got to about $5.75 billion. We said to them, ‘You’re within 10 per cent, why don’t you get in a room and try to get to a deal.’ But they said no.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

“I think they were very conscious of criticism if they were seen to be overpaying.

“Ultimately we think they would have been good owners but we think the Glazers made the right decision not to take the lesser value, and go with Ratcliffe instead.”

MAN UTD NEWS LIVE: All the latest news from Old Trafford

Topics