Already famous enough in one of the most lucrative sectors in the world, the oil and gas industry, Qatar now advances towards the upper echelons in the sports industry, another highly esteemed sector. Its greatest achievement thus far towards this end was the successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022. In 2012, barely two years after earning the hosting rights, under its sports investment arm, i.e., Qatar Sports Investment (QSI), the country successfully acquired the prestigious French football club, Paris St. Germain (PSG), making it one of the first state-owned clubs in Europe. As it now stands, the oil baron nation looks forward to adding yet another major European football club to its luxurious list of assets: a potentially game-changing move in odds offered by the best online bookmakers.
The deal
Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani is the man leading the purchase. He is the chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and son to Qatar’s former prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, former chairperson of the Qatari Investment Authority (QIA); a parent organization to PSG’s owner, the QSI.
The bid was confirmed on February 17, 2023, and is said to be “completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training center, the stadium, and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports.” Though the value hasn’t been made public yet, experts estimate it could reach over $6 billion, quite close to the £7 billion said to be the Glazers’ target.
Jim Ratcliff, owner of INEOS and one of the UK’s top billionaires is said to be the Sheikh’s possible close-range contender in the deal while Saudi Arabia equally features as one of the bidders. If successful, Manchester United’s purchase will rank highest in the history of club sales.
Potential obstacles to the Qatari bid
First and foremost, the UEFA does not support the ownership of two contesting clubs by a single organization or individual. From a quite different dimension, some human rights organizations have already launched a series of criticisms against the deal following Qatar’s human rights policies and they are presently calling out the UEFA to block the deal on the said account.
With regards to the first point, while Sheikh Jassim and Nasser Al-Khelaifi (chairman of PSG) are quite separate individuals, the organizations they represent could be all state-owned. Thus, suppose the UEFA should establish this fact, it seems probable that for Manchester United to be maintained, a portion of PSG could be given out.
It is quite possible that a different bidder could still grab the deal. However, the influence in sports the Qataris have had over the past years has been nothing but tremendous and given the QSI’s English premiere league plan, it is most likely that the funds could be shifted to another club. Any punter with keen attention towards these movements could always benefit from the odds adjustment through a betting software account registration.
