From left— Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe
Doha: In a bidding war, Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani, son of Qatar’s former prime minister and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe made their third and final bid to buy Manchester United Football Club on Friday.
The deadline for submitting bids ended at 10 pm GMT on Friday for the Glazer family which owns the club. Both parties are keen to complete the takeover deal that was floated last year.
As per a report by Reuters, Sheikh Jassim has a world-record bid of 6.2 billion dollars to take over Manchester United (MU). He has promised significant additional funding for transfers and infrastructure.
Ratcliffe’s improved bid is yet to be made public. He is willing to take a 50% stake in MU. But Jassim’s attempt is to own the football club completely.
Man Utd takeover..
SIR JIM RATCLIFFE: • Wants 50+ percent • Will keep the Glazers • Won’t clear debts • Might borrow to complete the deal
SHEIKH JASSIM: • Wants 100% • Will clear debts • Not borrowing • Will invest heavily on infrastructures + signings
Glazers announced in November the board had “authorised a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives”, including selling the club.
Investment bank the Raine Group was brought in to oversee the process after it handled the sale of Premier League rivals Chelsea.
After a deadline for expressions of interest in February and a second deadline last month marked a third deadline for bids.
According to AFP, the Glazers reportedly want a world record 6 billion British pound fee for the sporting club before they agree to sell the Old Trafford outfit, raising the possibility that neither Sheikh Jassim nor Ratcliffe’s offer will be accepted.
Sheikh Jassim has submitted his final bid for Manchester United. 🚨🔴🇶🇦 #MUFC
In addition to figure to buy the Club, Qatari’s proposal also includes a plan to invest a further significant amount of additional capital and infrastructure investment into the Club directly. pic.twitter.com/evTWGUZmaK
In the best traditions of Fergie-time, substitute Millie Turner headed home the latest possible winning goal to help Manchester United stretch their lead at the top of the Women’s Super League to six points.
The centre-back converted Katie Zelem’s much-disputed free-kick three minutes into added time to keep United’s dreams of a league and FA Cup double alive.
Marc Skinner had reckoned it was good to play ahead of title rivals – on the proviso United won. With Manchester City playing Leicester on Sunday and the Champions League semi-finalists, Chelsea and Arsenal, not in WSL action this weekend, this was United’s opportunity to put down their marker.
They may have played one more game than City – and three more than Chelsea, whom they lead by seven points – but the nature of this United comeback could yet power them to their first top-flight title.
Rachel Daly twice gave Villa the lead with superb finishes in the first half, against the meanest defence in the division, yet it was the shot she crashed against the crossbar at 2-1 early in the second half that will stick in the England player’s craw.
Skinner, the United manager, admitted Villa were the better side, especially in the first half, but invoked the club’s traditions under Sir Alex Ferguson in being able to win right at the death.
“It reinforces that we can do that,” he said. “It reinforces that the great Manchester United men’s teams never gave up until way into … well, it’s called ‘Fergie time’ for a reason, right? For me it shows much more about our mentality and it’s a massive sign of what we can achieve.”
Villa dominated United, especially with crosses into the box in the first half, with Lucy Staniforth particularly productive. Up against her former club, the midfielder’s corner invited Daly to time her run superbly and flash her header into the far corner. It was an outstanding, old-fashioned type of centre-forward’s goal.
Leah Galton equalised after Ona Batlle accelerated down the right flank to deliver such a fine low cross that the winger did not have to break stride to sidefoot in her ninth goal of the season.
United’s kept trying to play out from the back but Villa never gave them time, and Skinner admitted they should have played over the press more. “They were all over us, first half,” he said.
Rachel Daly scores Aston Villa’s second goal. Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images
This was a cracking game, the tempo unrelenting. Anna Patten, the Villa centre-back, headed another Staniforth corner against the crossbar and United looked set to lose for only a second time in 19 games.
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Yet at the other end, Hannah Hampton made a great reaction save from Galton and, just before half-time, Hayley Ladd was unfortunate to have a goal chalked off after Hampton, running into Galton, was adjudged to have been fouled.
By that stage Daly had moved level top of the WSL scorers with Bunny Shaw on 18. Maz Pacheco crossed low from the left and Daly was allowed enough time to sidefoot an expert low shot into the far corner with her left foot.
She so nearly completed her hat-trick on the hour. After a period of sustained United pressure, Villa counterattacked in devastating fashion. Nobbs played a reverse pass for Kenza Dali to cross for Daly to shoot against the bar.
How United made them pay. Within two minutes, Hannah Blundell crossed from the left wing and Nikita Parris, left unmarked, headed home the equaliser. With Russo heading over and United using all five substitutes, it seemed like their pressure was not going to pay. But then up stepped Turner.
It was a debatable decision for Maz Pacheco’s foul on Vilde Boe Risa. “It’s a tough one to take,” Villa manager, Carla Ward, said. “The lineswoman’s a yard away and there’s 20 seconds left and she says it’s no foul. The ref’s 30 yards away and says it’s a foul. We’ve had some big calls go against us. Something’s got to change. But my players have been absolutely outstanding.”
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani is expected to lodge an improved third bid of less than £5bn for Manchester United by Friday’s 10pm BST deadline. The offer would be markedly less than the £6bn valuation of the club’s owners, the Glazers.
Sheikh Jassim, a Qatari banker, remains intent on purchasing 100% of the club but will not pay more than what he believes United are worth. The Guardian understands this is more than £1bn below the American family’s asking price.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the only other publicly declared buyer for a controlling interest, is thought to want to acquire a little more than 50%, leaving Joel and Avram Glazer with a 20% stake. Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s richest people, may have to borrow to complete that deal.
A third option may be that one or more of the Glazers retain their stake and take investment into the club, with Elliott Investment Management and the Carlyle Group interested in doing so.
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The Raine Group, which is orchestrating the sale for the Glazers, has set the deadline in the hope of ending the protracted process in the coming weeks.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
Harry Kane heard it, all right – the extraordinary public wooing from the Manchester United support on Thursday night. “Harry Kane … we’ll see you in June,” they sang at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, half an hour or so into the game, and it took a much-discussed plotline to new levels.
At his press conference on Wednesday, Erik ten Hag had been full of flattery for Kane. A new centre-forward is the United manager’s priority and he would love to sign the England captain. But how often do thousands of fans make it clear to a player during a match that they would like him to come to their club?
A few quick points. The Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, is dead against selling Kane in the summer, even though the player will be out of contract in June of next year. United are wary of dealing with Levy and they are dead against a protracted summer chase. Kane has said nothing about a Spurs contract extension and intends to take stock at the end of the season.
“I heard what they were saying,” Kane said of the United supporters’ chant. “But I’m just focused on this team and trying to finish [the season] strongly.”
On one level, it had to have been nice for Kane to hear it. Everybody likes to feel wanted and respected. But on another, it perhaps reinforced the delicacy of Kane’s situation. He loves Spurs and has given his professional life to them. But as he approaches his 30th birthday in July, he wants to ensure that he competes at Champions League level and has a chance of finally winning silverware.
Can Kane do that at Spurs? The evidence of this season is an obvious no. But can he get out? He was blocked from doing so two summers ago when Manchester City tried to sign him. And, even though his contract is now much shorter, there is nothing to suggest that he will be granted a move.
When the United fans bellowed their chant, which was also in part to taunt the home crowd, Kane could have been excused a sigh. Spurs were 1-0 down and being overrun. They looked inhibited, dropping off United, inviting them to play. Although Spurs created a couple of chances, they gave up many more and the half-time scoreline could have been heavier than 2-0.
Son Heung-min celebrates with Harry Kane after scoring the equaliser against Manchester United, set up by Kane. Photograph: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images
There were anti-Levy chants from the South Stand and boos upon the half-time whistle but overall the mood was one of resignation. Spurs were at another low ebb, albeit not as low as that during last Sunday’s 6-1 hammering at Newcastle, the nadir of a crisis that had been weeks in the making, which Kane traces to the 3-3 draw at Southampton on 18 March, from 3-1 up. That was when the team conceded two late goals and Antonio Conte publicly eviscerated the players.
Conte would leave his post as manager a week or so later and since then we have had the home support abusing one of their own players (Davinson Sánchez in the 3-2 loss to Bournemouth); the departure of the managing director of football, Fabio Paratici, over the financial scandal at his previous club, Juventus; the replacement of one interim manager with another (Cristian Stellini out, Ryan Mason in) and the stalling of the push for a top-four finish. After the Newcastle debacle, the players felt moved to reimburse the travelling fans for the cost of their tickets.
All of which made what happened in the second half against United so remarkable, the comeback to salvage a 2-2 draw such a show of personality and togetherness, nobody hiding. The home crowd had not really got on the players’ backs in the first half; they did not react badly to United’s early goal. Their target was Levy. But once Spurs got on the front foot after the interval, the fans had something to get behind and they did. With Kane outstanding, Spurs roared back with goals from Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min.
“I thought the fans were amazing,” Kane said. “They really helped us in that second half. That’s the character and fight we have to show between now and the end of the season and it was good to hear the stadium rocking.”
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Kane said it was “quite calm” in the dressing room at half-time. Mason made tactical tweaks, mainly to stop the United midfield from enjoying such easy possession; to get Spurs higher up the pitch.
The real reset had come on Monday morning, when Levy summoned the squad’s senior players for a clear-the-air meeting. He had already decided to sack Stellini and replace him with Mason. The talks with Kane, Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg were an attempt to draw a line under the chaos.
“The chairman asked for a meeting,” Kane said. “It was important [for him] to understand where the players’ heads were at. It wasn’t just the Newcastle result. It had been building up since we conceded the two goals against Southampton.
“It was an honest conversation of where everyone is at and what we need to try to do to give us the best possible chance to finish the season with something. We’re still fighting for fourth place but if it’s not fourth we’ll try to finish fifth or sixth. In this league, it’s so competitive you can easily end up eighth or ninth if you’re not careful. That’s what it was – to give us the best chance.”
Spurs go to Liverpool on Sunday when belief and bravery will again be needed. They would appear, at least, to have recovered a platform.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
There were times during the first half when it felt as if Manchester United were toying with the Tottenham, their 2-0 lead at half-time a poor reflection of a game that felt mainly about how the home team would react to what had happened at Newcastle on Sunday.
Spurs looked inhibited, the 6-1 hammering in their minds – along, perhaps, with all of the other craziness that had made them the crisis club of the moment. And yet as they stared into the abyss, they found strength. From somewhere.
It would be wrong to underplay the extent of United’s second-half collapse. Not for the first time under Erik ten Hag, they completely lost their way at the first sign of trouble. There were shades of the 2-2 Europa League quarter-final first-leg draw at home to Sevilla.
It looked as though fatigue was an issue here, along with a lack of quality off the bench. All of the players that Ten Hag introduced struggled, especially Anthony Martial.
But Spurs and their caretaker manager, Ryan Mason, deserved immense credit. They carried the fight to United from the restart, stepping high and playing the game on their terms, which has not been said for a while. They gave the home crowd, which continued to chant against the chairman, Daniel Levy, something to get behind.
Pedro Porro, a recent target for some of the frustration, made it 2-1 with a beautifully guided shot, United’s advantage courtesy of Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford suddenly not looking so secure.
Spurs would get an equaliser, an incredible tonic, and they deserved it. Harry Kane was always going to be a principal subplot given how heavily he has been linked with a move to United. “Harry Kane, we’ll see you in June,” the United fans sang during the first half.
Spurs saw him here when it mattered. It was his lovely cross from the right that picked out Son Heung-min and he was not going to miss this one, having blown a gilt-edged opportunity earlier in the half. Kane had sprung forward after Cristian Romero stepped up to win a header and one of Ten Hag’s changes, Tyrell Malacia, was caught out.
Jadon Sancho watches his effort beat Fraser Forster in the Spurs goal. Photograph: Mark Leech/Offside/Getty Images
The point was probably not the worst for United in terms of their top-four hopes and it is difficult to see Spurs making it into the Champions League places. But the night was about more than the result. Spurs needed a performance to restore a bit of pride and in the end they got one. At full time there were no boos from the home crowd. For Levy, the slightly muted response was golden.
The pre-match protest against Levy – not for the first time – had seen about 50 blokes gather on the High Road with a few banners, singing some songs. It was not exactly the anti-Glazer movement although, as their United counterparts can tell them, it is one thing to protest, quite another to shift unpopular owners.
It was flat inside the ground at the outset, the impression being that 60,000 or so were watching Spurs try to shake their heads clear and United sweeping into an early lead. Rashford rode a challenge from Oliver Skipp to work the ball left and Sancho’s finish was bent into the far corner after he stepped inside Porro and Romero. It was a lovely moment for Sancho, who was restored to the starting XI after his positive cameo in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final win over Brighton.
The locals were restless rather than seething with anger, the South Stand striking up a few anti-Levy choruses while the man himself sat impassively. There were boos at the half-time whistle but there usually are when Spurs are behind.
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United’s second came on 44 minutes and the only wonder was that they took so long. It was a wretched concession, Ivan Perisic having been through at the other end one-on-one with David de Gea up the inside left, only to be denied. United broke, Bruno Fernandes sending a raking diagonal upfield to Rashford, who had isolated himself against Eric Dier.
The alarm bells rang loudly for Spurs, Dier backing off Rashford, showing him up the outside. Rashford went there and blasted past Fraser Forster. It was so simple. When the ball hit the net, Perisic remained deep in United territory.
Richarlison, restored to the Spurs starting XI, brought a bit of snarl and a few dangerous runs, while Perisic worked De Gea with a header. But United created several clear chances after Sancho’s breakthrough. Sancho had a shot cleared off the line by Perisic while Forster made saves, the best to deny Rashford from a Fernandes cross.
A “Levy Out” banner appeared in the South Stand at the start of the second half and perhaps United thought that the job was done. Spurs had other ideas. Clément Lenglet hit the top of the crossbar with a header before Porro picked out the top corner with the outside of his boot after a Perisic cross sparked chaos in the area.
Fernandes ought to have restored United’s cushion only to hit the crossbar after tricking through the middle of the area, nutmegging Lenglet, but Spurs were bang in the game, sensing a reprieve.
Son’s miss from Kane’s pass was a bad one, bettered only when Dier nodded wide from point-blank range and in yards of space. But Son made no mistake at the second time of asking and Mason could celebrate when Casemiro headed off target at the very last.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
Hyderabad: The last chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh, N Kiran Kumar Reddy recently joined the BJP and is more interested in participating in Telangana politics than Andhra Pradesh.
Kiran Kumar Reddy, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, had opposed the Congress high command’s decision to create a separate Telangana state as chief minister.
According to reliable sources, Mr. Reddy is interested in contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Malkajari parliamentary constituency. He informed the BJP high command about his interest in Malkajagri constituency and said that there is a significant number of Andhra voters in this constituency and the BJP can easily win.
Kiran Kumar Reddy is educated at Hyderabad Public School and Nizam College and is exploring his political future in Telangana owing to his good relations in the state. The Andhra leader’s decision to contest in Telangana is unlikely to be objected by the BRS as the party itself is going to contest in Andhra Pradesh and also eyeing Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Sources close to Kiran Kumar Reddy believe that the BJP high command has accepted the proposal to contest the Lok Sabha elections. However, a final decision will be taken after consulting local BJP leaders. With several contenders already in place in the party for the Malkajagri Lok Sabha constituency, the BJP has focused on strengthening the party in Hyderabad and surrounding areas.
Revanth Reddy had won the Malkajagri Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket in the last elections. Since Revanth Reddy is interested in the assembly elections, the BJP is confident that it can win from the Malkajagri Lok Sabha constituency.
According to the sources, a plan has been charted out for BJP to do better in the Telangana elections, BJP leadership is in favour of early elections or advocating Telangana elections along with the general elections in the country.
If sources to be believed, national BJP leaders are preparing for elections in Telangana any time after June to prepare for all out fight against the ruling party in Telangana State with complete focus.
Hyderabad: The last chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh, N Kiran Kumar Reddy recently joined the BJP and is more interested in participating in Telangana politics than Andhra Pradesh.
Kiran Kumar Reddy, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, had opposed the Congress high command’s decision to create a separate Telangana state as chief minister.
According to reliable sources, Mr. Reddy is interested in contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Malkajari parliamentary constituency. He informed the BJP high command about his interest in Malkajagri constituency and said that there is a significant number of Andhra voters in this constituency and the BJP can easily win.
Kiran Kumar Reddy is educated at Hyderabad Public School and Nizam College and is exploring his political future in Telangana owing to his good relations in the state. The Andhra leader’s decision to contest in Telangana is unlikely to be objected by the BRS as the party itself is going to contest in Andhra Pradesh and also eyeing Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Sources close to Kiran Kumar Reddy believe that the BJP high command has accepted the proposal to contest the Lok Sabha elections. However, a final decision will be taken after consulting local BJP leaders. With several contenders already in place in the party for the Malkajagri Lok Sabha constituency, the BJP has focused on strengthening the party in Hyderabad and surrounding areas.
Revanth Reddy had won the Malkajagri Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket in the last elections. Since Revanth Reddy is interested in the assembly elections, the BJP is confident that it can win from the Malkajagri Lok Sabha constituency.
According to the sources, a plan has been charted out for BJP to do better in the Telangana elections, BJP leadership is in favour of early elections or advocating Telangana elections along with the general elections in the country.
If sources to be believed, national BJP leaders are preparing for elections in Telangana any time after June to prepare for all out fight against the ruling party in Telangana State with complete focus.
New Delhi: After Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi to take the cause of opposition unity forward.
After the meeting at Kharge’s residence, Gandhi said: “We are united”, while Pawar advocated larger unity among opposition parties.
“I want that there should be talks with leaders of all opposition parties including Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal. We should talk to them and move forward, taking everyone along, to unite the opposition,” he said.
Kharge told that he is glad that Pawar is guiding and working for larger opposition unity.
Leaders of the Congress, Nitish Kumar’s JD-U, and Lalu Prasad’s RJD, who are coalition allies in Bihar, had met on Wednesday. Later Nitish Kumar met Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal and on Thursday, met CPI-M chief Sitaram Yechury and CPI’s D. Raja of left parties.
Nitish Kumar along with his deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had met Kharge and Gandhi at Kharge’s residence, and all four addressed the media jointly later.
Tehran: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has called on Muslim states to form a “united and consistent” front in support of the Palestinians against Israel.
In a phone conversation with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Raisi said that Iran and Algeria share common stances on regional and international affairs, particularly the Palestine issue and the protection of the Palestinians’ rights, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement posted on the website of the Iranian President’s office.
The Algerian President said that he hoped that “Palestine would be liberated from the Israelis through cooperation among Muslim states”.
The phone conversation followed last week’s escalation of tension along the Israeli borders with Lebanon and the Palestinian enclave of Gaza Strip. Militants from southern Lebanon and Gaza fired rockets at Israel, while Israel responded with airstrikes.
The latest round of escalation followed Israeli raids earlier last week at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, a flashpoint holy site in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli police clashed with dozens of Palestinian worshippers. The Israeli police said “dozens of law-breaking youths” attempted to barricade themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque “to incite riots”.
