Manchester United’s name has been thrown into the mix with the news QSI are exploring branching out into English football.
Bloomberg name Manchester United as a potential opportunity for the Qatari Sports Investment group, who own Paris Saint-Germain.
QSI are said to have also held exploratory talks with Tottenham, with United and Liverpool both cited as potentially being an opportunity for the group.
But hold fire. This one doesn’t quite stack up, or look like a good match for Manchester United, despite the incredible wealth, a state fund with a net worth of £277 billion.
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Why Qatari investment reports do not fit takeover plans
While QSI have a huge amount of financial power at their disposal, their planned investment does not really fit what Manchester United need.
Bloomberg report that QSI are only looking at taking a minority stake in a Premier League club.
This does not work for Manchester United, with the club in need of entirely new owners, to rid the club of the Glazers entirely.
The Glazers are finally ready to walk away and sell the club, BBC Sport report – and Manchester United do not need a wealthy investment fund coming in to prop them up, and change their mind.
United need substantial investment across the board, from playing staff, to training facilities, to an improved or remodelled stadium to bring it up to date.
The Glazers cannot finance any of this, and Manchester United need a wealthy ownership ground ready to go ‘all in’, not take a ‘half in and half out’ approach.
There is also the very serious threat of a conflict of interest with Paris Saint-Germain, too. Upon returning to the Champions League, United will view themselves as direct competitors.
Even with a minority investment in United, this could cause serious problems, in terms of player dealings, with a worst case scenario being that the Red Devils end up as a satellite club for PSG.
Manchester United need new owners, but QSI investment is not the right fit, and we do not see this one making any progress.