co-owner Avram Glazer has fueled speculation that Sheikh Jassim could win the bidding for the club after he was spotted leaving a hotel owned by the family.
The American was in the capital on Sunday to watch United’s women’s side lose to in the final.
His appearance was a notable one, given the scarcity of public appearances by the Glazer family at recent times.
The Americans are mulling over several bids from the club, the most prominent of which have come from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim.
Two of the six Glazer siblings remain keen to keep the club and Ratcliffe’s bid is reportedly the favoured one, as he’s offering the brothers a chance to remain shareholders at Old Trafford.
But Avram has fueled speculation that Sheikh Jassim remains in contention after he was spotted leaving Claridge’s in central London on Sunday.
The five-star hotel is one of several high-profile estates purchased by the Jassim family – in conjunction with the state of Qatar – in London in recent times. It is owned by the Maybourne Hotel Group, which is owned by Jassim’s father, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.
It raises the possibility that, given the reports that Ratcliffe had been leading the race, that the Qatari family have sought extra talks with the Glazers.
The two bids placed were well short of the Glazers’ £6bn valuation of United and they’ve been accused of trying to play either team off against one another in order to increase the bids.
It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the Glazers will take the club off the market altogether and decide to keep United, as they feel their valuation has not been met.
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