The discreet sheikh behind Qatar's bid for Manchester United

The Qatari sheikh seeking control of Manchester United is the low-profile son of one of the richest men in the Gulf with ready access to the billions needed to make the audacious bid work.

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, who is in his early 40s, has also maintained the credentials of discipline and discretion needed to get the Qatari establishment behind the tiny state's latest headline grabbing operation.

"If he has gone public with this bid, then you can be assured that everyone from the emir down wants this to work," said a top executive with a multi-national company that has been dealing with Qatar for decades.

"Qatar has held the World Cup and now it has to follow it up," he added, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of making public comments in Qatar.

News of the bid for one of the world's most famous clubs was reported in the Gulf state on Saturday with strictly factual reporting of Sheikh Jassim's statement.

The deal could cost more than $5 billion and the announcement did not say where the money would come from. Sheikh Jassim has strong connections, however, to the seemingly bottomless pockets that have made Qatar one of the world's top investors.

The sheikh, the son of former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, is the longstanding chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and was educated at Sandhurst, the elite British military academy.

His bid statement said he graduated as an "officer cadet".

'Life-long fan'

It also stated that Jassim is "a life-long Manchester United fan" but gave few other details.

The sheikh was born in 1982, the year that QIB was established. He joined the bank's board in his early 20s and has been chairman for much of QIB's rise to become a leading Islamic financial institution.

As Qatar's wealth has skyrocketed, QIB has introduced women-only bank branches and sharia-compliant insurance and other products for women.

It has also helped build giant shopping malls and the sheikh's rare public comments have concentrated on reaffirming the bank's commitment to its "diversification" away from oil and gas and bolstering its private sector.

QIB, which has $50 billion in assets, posted a net profit of over $1 billion in 2022, more than 12 percent up on the year and having shown a dramatic increase in the past decade.

Sheikh Jassim cut his banking teeth as a board member until 2017 at international giant Credit Suisse, where the Qatar Investment Authority, the state sovereign wealth fund, is the second biggest shareholder.

The would-be football supremo is one of the 15 children of Sheikh Hamad, prime minister from 2007 to 2013, who set up the investment fund that bankrolled the purchase of Paris Saint-Germain football club and London landmarks such as Harrods department store and the Shard skyscraper.

Sheikh Hamad, who is known as HBJ, was close to former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who was instrumental in Qatar's massive investment in major sports events such as the World Cup and buying into clubs and sports rights.

Sheikh Hamad has his own business empire which has made him a billionaire and is known to be passionate about football.

Qatar's ownership of Paris Saint-Germain could prove a block to Sheikh Jassim's ambitions to take over Manchester United. European governing body UEFA does not allow two clubs competing in the same competition to be owned by the same entity.

Qatar's advisers have expressed confidence, however, that any objections to another English Premier League club falling under Middle East control can be overcome.

The Qatari bid faces opposition from British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, the only other bidder to have officially declared an interest.