The Qatari royal family was seen as the favorites to secure the club from the Glazers.
However, the club's owning family chose to sell a minority stake to INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe instead.
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But according to Joe Ravitch, the co-founder of the Raine Group that managed the sale, the Qataris were cautious of how much they would have to pony up to own United.
"We met Jassim. He was in New York. He's a lovely guy; a very smart guy," explained Ravitch, in an interview with The Times.
"The Qataris were very real. They were very smart guys, very thoughtful.
"I don't know why they didn't appreciate the value (of the club) but we were not their adviser.
We tried as the seller to explain the value to them, and they put what they thought was a series of very serious bids on the table."