Explained: Who is Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad JJ Al Thani, the Qatari bidding to buy Manchester United?

Back in November 2022, the Glazer family had announced that they were open to selling European football giants Manchester United . On 22 November last year, which incidentally was the same day when Cristiano Ronaldo announced he would leave the club, United issued a statement saying the board was exploring ‘strategic alternatives’ for the club. “Manchester United announces today that the board is commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives for the club. “The process is designed to enhance the club’s future growth, with the ultimate goal of positioning the club to capitalise on opportunities both on the pitch and commercially. “As part of this process, the board will consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company. “This will include an assessment of several initiatives to strengthen the club, including stadium and infrastructure redevelopment, and expansion of the club’s commercial operations on a global scale, each in the context of enhancing the long-term success of the club’s men’s, women’s and academy teams, and bringing benefits to fans and other stakeholders,” United had said in the statement. The development regarding United’s sale gathered even further pace last week after a consortium led by a Sheikh bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatari banker submitted a bid to take full ownership of United, while British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, who is the CEO of the INEOS chemical company based in London, also had bid for the club. “Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani today confirmed his submission of a bid for 100 per cent of Manchester United Football Club,” Al Thani had said in a statement on Friday, while also adding that the bid planned to return United to it’s ‘former glories’. “The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience, and communities the club supports,” added the statement. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe’s company INEOS will hope to expand their ever-growing sports portfolio should their bid eventually become successful. INEOS currently owns the French Ligue 1 outfit Nice, Swiss club FC Lausanne-Sport and Ineos Grenadiers, the cycling team that was formerly called Team Sky. So who is Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani? Let’s find out here: Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani was born in 1982, and is considered to be a lifelong supporter of Manchester United. His father Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, had served as the Prime Minister of Qatar between 2007 and 2013. The politician also owns French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), which could raise a conflict of interest between the two clubs, since UEFA prevents two clubs competing in the same competition to be owned by the same organisation. Al Thani is the longstanding chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and was educated at Sandhurst, the elite British military academy. Unlike his father, however, Sheikh Jassim has kept a low-key international profile. Sheikh Jasim, who is in his early 40s, has been involved with several business with close ties to the government, and even before he was 20 years old, he held seats on boards of some of the biggest Qatari companies. And before turning 30, Sheikh Jassim became a board member of Credit Suisse Group AG, where he served till 2017 amid a financial crisis. Sheikh Jassim holds various other positions apart from serving as the chairman of QIB. He is an honorary president of the Qatar National Cancer Society (QNCS), chair of the supreme council of environment and natural resources, and also a a member of the Board of Trustees at Qatar Foundation. Jassim was a second lieutenant in the Qatari armed forces before being appointed as heir apparent in 1996. He replaced his half-brother Mishaal bin Hamad Al Thani as heir apparent, but abdicated seven years later, after he was reported to have sent a letter to his father, stating that he never wanted the position. Sheikh Jassim married his cousin Sheikha Bothaina bint Hamad Al and have eight children together. With inputs from AFP  Read all the  Latest News ****,  Trending News ****,  Cricket News ****,  Bollywood News ****,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ****,  Twitter  and  Instagram ****.