Hard Conversation between Manchester United’s owners and PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi concerning the sale of Manchester United has been leaked
Gotten from- Sky Sport News
Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi was said to have ‘played a major role’ in Sheikh Jassim’s possible takeover of Manchester United, but Sky Sports News was told he was only being asked for advice
Manchester United’s owners have met with PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi to ask him to persuade Sheikh Jassim to raise his offer to buy the club.
The Glazers want £6bn and last week Sheikh Jassim made a fifth improved offer, said to be his latest offer, totaling around £5bn.
The Athletic reported on Friday that Al-Khelaifi “played a major role” in the Qatari royal family’s bid to take over the club from the Glazer family.
He also reportedly met with the Raine Group to discuss the acquisition.
But Sky Sports News was told Al-Khelaifi was only being asked for advice, with Sheikh Jassim having already contacted the PSG president about his offer. Al-Khelaifi said before the Champions League final in Istanbul: “PSG is my club and it is in my heart. There is nothing else. Here, as president of the ECA, I would like to have better leagues and more clubs.” strong.
“My French league, and everyone in the French league – if they asked me questions like this I would tell them my opinion, do this, do that in my eyes – I want the best for the French leagues and European leagues competition. “
Sheikh Jassim believes his bid is highly competitive and will bring huge benefits to Manchester United, including the cancellation of nearly £1bn of club debt and a separate fund to redevelop Old Trafford, the surrounding area and the Carrington club training ground.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS prices United at a higher price than Sheikh Jassim’s offer, but their offer is not for the whole club and would give the Glazers the chance to retain a 20% stake. United’s share price closed at $18.80 on the NYSE in May, giving the club a market capitalization of $3.09bn (£2.47bn).
“Al-Khelaifi’s involvement would be important, but he was only asked for advice”
Kaveh Solhekol, Sky Sports News Chief Reporter:
“There have been some interesting developments in the never-ending Manchester United takeover saga, as two of our colleagues at The Athletic – David Ornstein and Matt Slater – report that Nasser Al-Khelaifi is involved in the Sheikh bid Jassim to buy the club.”
“It would be very, very important because Al-Khelaifi is one of the most powerful men in world football; he is the president of PSG, he is also the president of the European Club Association, he sits on the executive committee of UEFA and he is also the president of Qatar Sports Investments – the sports investment division of the Qatar sovereign wealth fund.
“If he is involved in the acquisition, it is important for two reasons. Firstly, it would mean that the president of PSG is also involved in the attempted purchase of Manchester United, which would lead to all kinds of complications and difficulties from a sporting and competitive point of view. Second, if he is involved, it would indicate that Sheikh Jassim’s offer is indeed an offer on behalf of the Qatari state since the Qatari sovereign wealth fund would be involved.
“What we were told [Friday] night is that two things are absolutely true. One is that when Sheikh Jassim first decided to apply for Manchester United, he got in touch with Al-Khelaifi We.” I was told that there was nothing suspicious and that everything was fine. They are both Qatari and, as I said, Al-Khelaifi is one of the most powerful players in world football So why should Sheik Jassim not get in touch and ask him for example what he thinks of Manchester United, if he thinks paying more than £5 billion for the club worth it ? “The second really important thing that happened, which The Athletic reported [Friday night], is that the Glazers contacted Al-Khelaifi. They contacted and met with him and what we were told is that De reason for this meeting went ahead is because some pressure was put on Al-Khelaifi to try and persuade Sheikh Jassim to raise his bid for the club.
“It has been widely reported that the Glazers want £6bn for Manchester United. Sheikh Jassim is not willing to offer that kind of money; his offer is around £5bn. Al-Khelaifi was interviewed by both the parties, but people close to standing there telling him that this doesn’t mean he’s involved in buying the club, far from it. He was only asked for advice.”
What the British press says
Sam Wallace of The Telegraph:
“For Qataris, prestige is everything. They are absolutely in this race, they want to win. They are so advanced that they don’t want to look defeated. So it’s about the price, so look, we’ve got a new offer.”
John Cross from the Daily Mirror:
“Jim Ratcliffe would only own part of the club and I just think that totally misjudges the mood of the Manchester United fans. Kaveh Solhekol was excellent when he said: everyone is tired of this, it’s time to move on.” The Glazers must either stay or change and will soon have to make a decision.
“I texted one of my Manchester United friends before asking him which of Qatar or Sir Jim Ratcliffe he would prefer and he immediately said, ‘The Sheik because it would be wholly owned by Manchester United. – Fans are fed up with the Glazer family and don’t want this property anymore.”
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Arsenal and Mikel Arteta granted Roberto Firmino’s wish as Liverpool prepare for exciting move
Roberto Firmino was instrumental in Liverpool’s recent success and proved to be a thorn in Arsenal’s side during his eight-year tenure
Another member of Liverpool’s iconic trio Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane will cheer on the Kop for the last time as the Brazilian departs to end the season.
Anfield said goodbye to the flamboyant Firmino against Aston Villa on Saturday as his eight-year stay at Merseyside comes to an end.
The 31-year-old joined TSG Hoffenheim from the Bundesliga aged 23 for £22m. He has since made over 360 appearances for Liverpool and has become the most used player under the management of Jurgen Klopp.
To add to his prolific spell with the Reds, he’s picked up medals in recent seasons for the Champions League, Premier League, Club World Cup and both domestic cup victories. However, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season, it was confirmed that the Brazil international would leave at the end of the season.
During his career at Liverpool, Firmino scored 109 goals, 80 of which came in the English top flight. In 23 appearances this season, he’s scored nine goals during a difficult season for Klopp’s side and has struggled with injuries in recent weeks that initially left his departure to Villans in doubt this weekend.
However, the German boss has confirmed he has been training for his last hurrah in L4 this week while James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are among those saying goodbye.
Robbie Fowler loved playing against Villa, Fernando Torres could always be counted on to score a goal against Chelsea and Norwch City were delighted to see Luis Suarez depart after three hat-tricks against the Canaries. At the same time, several clubs will be happy to see Firmino again.
One of them is Arsenal. The Gunners again fell victim to a goal from the Brazilian in a thrilling 2-2 draw which hurt the North London clubs’ title aspirations.
Trent Alexander-Arnold left Oleksandr Zinchenko for dead before handing him over for Firmino who nodded past Aaron Ramsdale. The 31-year-old has scored more goals against Arsenal than any other club. In 18 appearances, the striker scored 11 times and his joy against the London club began in his debut season. Lui grabbed a brace in a 3-3 draw in 2016, but his highlight was his 5-1 win at Anfield during their Champions League winning campaign.
His hat-trick helped Klopp’s side meet the challenge of Unai Emery’s side and saw Liverpool score in each of their last three meetings with the Gunners.
FIRMINO’ What was Bobby’s best moment? Cast your vote in our poll below
Watford, who have fluctuated between the Premier League and the Championship in recent seasons, are another club who have fallen short of the 31-year-old’s sights. After meeting the Hornets for the first time, he scored four goals in six meetings and ahead of relegation to English football’s second tier last season, grabbed the ball with an impressive hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Victoria Road.
Luckily for Leicester City, Firmino has missed both meetings this season with injury but suffered defeats in both games as he looked down on the fall. The Foxes are another side he enjoyed playing against six goals in 14 Premier League matches and scored twice both times as the Reds netted four against Kasper Schmeichel.
Like the Leicestershire side, Crystal Palace have failed to undo the Brazilian who outran the Eagles six times during his Premier League spell.
In the season in which Liverpool defended their first Premier League title, Firmino faced two impressive wins at Selhurst Park as the Reds hit the home side seven times. Manchester City have been a club locked in a title fight for several years, as Klopp battled with opponent Pep Guardiola both domestically and internationally during his reign in England. One of the most memorable encounters took place in the Champions League at the Etihad Stadium en route to the final in Kyiv.
Firmino swept possession away from Nicolas Otamendi and then passed Ederson to give the Reds a 2-1 lead and a four-goal advantage that night after Salah canceled out Gabriel Jesus’ opener within two minutes.
He scored four other goals against the Citizens during his career at Anfield, all of them in the Premier League.
Firmino’s departure marks a changing of the guard in the Reds’ formidable strike force. For years, Klopp’s top three created fear in defense as Salah, Sadio Mane and the Brazilian proved insurmountable with their goals.
After the Senegalese icon left for Bayern Munich last summer, coinciding with former wingers Roma’s contract extension, the 31-year-old’s departure marks the latest departure for the iconic trio.
Firmino may have arrived as an unknown Brazilian but he leaves behind a full-fledged Liverpool icon and Arsenal will be happy he is no longer harassing them in a red shirt.
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