One of Qatar’s richest men steps out to buy Man. United

A son of Qatar’s former prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, one of the Gulf state’s richest men, has submitted an offer for Manchester United, as bidding gets under way for the Premier League club.

The son, Sheikh Jassim, confirmed his bid for one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious football clubs in a statement.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, billionaire founder of UK chemicals group Ineos, has also made an offer to buy the club, according to a person familiar with the process.

Ratcliffe has hired JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to be advisers and plans to position himself as the British alternative now that one of the UK’s most famous cultural assets is preparing to change hands.

A takeover of United is likely to break the record price paid for a sports team set by the Denver Broncos American football side last year. Billionaire Rob Walton, heir to the Walmart retail fortune, acquired the NFL franchise for $4.6bn. Sheikh Hamad, known as HBJ, is a billionaire and was one of Qatar’s most powerful figures in the 1990s and 2000s, serving as prime minister and foreign minister.

As Qatar used its gas riches to snap up trophy assets in the 2000s, he headed the Qatar Investment Authority and was the face of a UK spending spree that took Doha stakes in London’s Shard skyscraper, Chelsea Barracks, Canary Wharf, London Stock Exchange and the Berkeley and Connaught hotels.

However, HBJ’s influence waned when Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani surprised the Gulf by stepping down as emir and handing power to his son, Sheikh Tamim, the current ruler, in 2013. HBJ was swiftly replaced as prime minister and head of the QIA, the sovereign wealth fund.

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However, he oversees a huge personal fortune and has continued to be an active investor. Forbes magazine estimates he has a net worth of $1.3bn.

The Qatari bid is for full possession of the club, which is owned by the Glazer family, the American sport investors. It will be debt free and transacted through a foundation set up by Sheikh Jassim.

While Ratcliffe will struggle to match the financial firepower of the Qatari offer, he has sought to emphasise his local roots, promising a “progressive, fan-centred” approach to ownership, said a person close to the bid. Ratcliffe also touted a “British bid” when he tried to gate-crash the bidding for Chelsea FC last year, although the last-minute nature of the offer raised doubts over his seriousness.

Merchant bank Raine Group is leading the sale, having picked up the mandate after conducting the £2.5bn auction of Chelsea. Raine did not immediately respond to requests for comment.