Manchester United Not For Sale to Qatar Holdings

English soccer giants Manchester United have refuted reports that the club could be sold to Qatar Holdings, claiming “there is nothing in this”.

Rumours circulated over the weekend that a £1.5bn (US$2.3bn) was being prepared by Qatar Holdings in a bid to buy the Premier League outfit. Phil Townsend, Communications Director at United, denied suggestions that the clubs current controversial owners, the Glazers, may be tempted in to a sale.

In an interview with Manchester Evening News, Townsend stated: “There is nothing in this, the club have had no approach at all and it is not for sale.”

Qatar’s on world soccer has catapulted in recent months, leading to a proposed attempt to buy out the world’s largest soccer brand. Sheikh Abdullah al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, completed a buy-out of Spanish top-flight club Malaga, while last week the Qatar Foundation, the charity wing of the ruling family, agreed a €150 million deal to become Barcelona’s first paying shirt sponsor. All this is multiplied by the nation’s recent success in their bid to host the World Cup in 2022.

Qatar Holdings has assets of around £40bn ($62bn) and is chaired by the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani.