David Beckham has played down reports he could play a role in the Qatari takeover bid for Manchester United.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani remains in the hunt to buy United from the Glazer family alongside rival bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the latter of whom is exploring a change to his proposal to get a deal over the line.
Beckham, who has ties to Qatar after taking up an ambassadorial role for the 2022 World Cup, recently admitted he had a preferred winner in the takeover race but refused to confirm whether he was talking about Sheikh Jassim.
Reports recently claimed Beckham could play a similar role in Sheikh Jassim’s bid to buy United. 90min reported in November 2022 that interested parties had reached out to the Red Devils legend to gauge his interest in getting involved, with a number of suitors making contact long before a final shortlist of bidders was revealed.
Quizzed on whether he has spoken with Sheikh Jassim, Beckham told CNBC: “At the moment there has been no discussion. I have had a long-standing relationship with Qatar, because of my involvement with PSG. Obviously there will be some connection and people put two and two together. “There will be a takeover, it is the right time. We all have our opinions on who should take over, but in my opinion it is about who cares about the club the most and will take the club back to where it should be.
“Everybody knows I am a Manchester United fan and I have been very vocal about the situation that is happening. I grew up there from a young age with a lot of stability with the same manager and the same owners.
“Manchester United will always be one of the biggest clubs in the world. We need to get back to that for the fans, the players, the manager because at the moment, there is no stability. We need to get the talk back on the field, not off it.
“I want to see an ownership group who will take the club back to what it should be. I am not saying the past owners have done a bad job but it is the right time for someone else to take over.”
Sheikh Jassim’s offer to the Glazers is understood to be worth a total of £6bn – £5bn for the club itself plus a further £1bn in debt repayments – and is solely based on a 100% share transfer, whereas the INEOS bid would give the Glazers the chance to remain at Old Trafford.
What we know
- Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim & INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe remain in talks over buying Man Utd
- Reports have recently claimed Beckham could be part of the Qatari bid
- Beckham hinted at a preferred bidder.
