Tribal Football

UNCOVERED: Sheikh Jassim's 'Project Ruby' in detail for Man Utd fans; buying out Ratcliffe not off table

Paul Vegas
UNCOVERED: Sheikh Jassim's 'Project Ruby' in detail for Man Utd fans; buying out Ratcliffe not off table
UNCOVERED: Sheikh Jassim's 'Project Ruby' in detail for Man Utd fans; buying out Ratcliffe not off tableProfimedia
Sheikh Jassim's original plans for Manchester United have been laid out, with suggestions that the Qatari Royal would still be open to a full-blown takeover of the club.

Sheikh Jassim was beaten by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the bidding process for United 18 months ago, with the latter taking a minority stake in the club with the view to eventually buying out the Glazer family.

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The Daily Mail has detailed how Sheikh Jassim's plans, dubbed 'Project Ruby', were to be rolled out:

Day One: Announce takeover.

Day Two: Announce that all debt has been removed, that the club has been taken off the New York Stock Exchange and that it is no longer answerable to far-away stakeholders.

Day Three: Announce fully-funded plans for new stadium.

"The bloody thing would have been fully in-motion now," one senior adviser insisted. "A stadium for a football club paid for by a football club and nobody else. And as for the staff Ratcliffe is firing - we would have been hiring."

The source also stated: "The stadium was a huge element.

"It was acknowledged that the main revenue driver was the TV deal followed by the stadium. And there was a sperate fund earmarked for the women's team.

"They wanted to dispel the myth about that some had fuelled during the bidding process about a Qatari owner who does not exist. Everything was aimed at inclusion. The women would not be a sideshow, they would have their own training centre in Manchester as they do at (Qatari-owned) PSG."

Plans for fans to buy into the club were also drawn up, while an advisory board would include club legends - including the now publicly sidelined Sir Alex Ferguson.

The advisor also teased: "Sheikh Jassim is still a rich guy.

"He is still a United fan. He is not going to rush off and try another Premier League club.

"If the opportunity to buy the whole of Manchester United arose again at some point in the future it is hard to see there not being a big level of interest. The plans are still there."

 

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