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Liverpool takeover latest with Man United set for major Qatar bid in ‘days’

With both Liverpool and Man United up for sale at the same time, could an imminent Qatari bid for the Manchester club impact FSG’s investment plans?

Not long after Fenway Sports Group announced their intentions to seek further investment into Liverpool, which could result in the sale of the club, the Glazer family also declared United available.

The decision has undoubtedly impacted the market for FSG, with potential investors now weighing up bids for two of the most lucrative clubs in world football, rather than one.

So far, it is only United which has attracted anything close to concrete interest, with British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe joining the process.

And now, according to the Mail‘s Mike Keegan, United are set for a “massive offer” from an unnamed Qatari consortium “within days.”

This comes with the Glazers setting a deadline of mid-February for any bids, the American family valuing their asset at over £6 billion.

The Qatari group are said to be “keen for the process to reach a quick conclusion,” and are “confident their bid will blow the competition out of the water.”

A distinction is made between these potential investors and the Qatar Sports Investments group (QSI) which owns Paris Saint-Germain.

BERLIN, GERMANY - Saturday, July 29, 2017: Liverpool owner John W. Henry with friend David Dobson during a preseason friendly match celebrating 125 years of football for Liverpool and Hertha BSC Berlin at the Olympic Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Similar has been reiterated by sports finance journalist Alex Miller, who claims that they are also “different investors” to the Qatar Investment Authority group (QIA) he describes as “in talks with Liverpool FC.”

That raises the prospect of both Liverpool and Man United being owned by Qatari investors, while Man City are owned by the Abu Dhabi state.

Newcastle are also now owned by a group from the Middle East, with a consortium led by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, taking over in 2021.

There has been little movement when it comes to Liverpool’s future at this stage, though The Athletic‘s Matt Slater recently touched upon interest from the American-based Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

Slater adds that QSI are “looking for a minority stake in a Premier League power,” which he claims “will most likely mirror the 10 to 15 percent stake they are looking to sell [in PSG].”