Sheikh Jassim should go and buy LIVERPOOL to get back at Man United for rejecting his takeover bid after the ‘angry’ Qataris lost out to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, says Mike Keegan on It’s All Kicking Off

Sheikh Jassim should go and buy Liverpool if he wants to take revenge on Manchester United for rejecting his takeover bid, Mail Sport’s Mike Keegan told the It’s All Kicking Off podcast.

The Qataris withdrew from the race to buy the Premier League giants on Saturday after it emerged Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s offer of £1.4billion for a 25 per cent stake in United was more appealing to the Glazer family.

Jassim and his group wanted complete control of United but their offer of around £5.5bn was short of the Glazers’ £6bn asking price.

It means British petrochemicals billionaire Ratcliffe is now likely to buy a quarter of the club and take over control of the playing side at Old Trafford.

Keegan told the show the Qataris have been left ‘very disappointed and angered’ by developments and it was suggested by football editor Ian Ladyman they should move for arch-rivals Liverpool.

Ratcliffe and INEOS would likely take control of the playing side of things at Old Trafford

Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, did put the club up for sale last November around the same time the Glazers started inviting investment in United. 

But in February, Liverpool owner John W Henry insisted the Anfield club wasn’t up for sale, though offers of external investment would be considered.

‘The Qataris set aside about $8bn [£6.57bn] for the United project,’ Keegan told It’s All Kicking Off.

‘That money is there and ready to go, burning a hole in their pockets, so what a story that would be [to buy Liverpool].

‘From what I am led to believe, they are very, very disappointed and angered at how this has played out.

‘What better way to respond than to get United’s biggest rivals from down the road and throw all that money you were going to throw into Manchester United into making them pay for that decision not to sell to you.’

The £1.4bn investment by Ratcliffe and INEOS is likely to be the first step in a staged buyout of United from the Glazers.

But that is unlikely to appease the many United supporters who want the American owners completely out of the club.

‘When it became clear that INEOS wants to take over the football operations, well then that is probably quite attractive to a lifelong Manchester United fan,’ Keegan said.

Mail Sport’s Mike Keegan suggested the Qataris should go and buy United’s arch-rivals Liverpool if they wanted to take revenge on United for snubbing them

Keegan said the Qatari bidders have been left ‘very disappointed and angered’ by the decision

Sheikh Jassim’s latest offer of £5.5bn was  short of the £6bn the Glazers are thought to want

‘We know there has been a period of decline since Sir Alex Ferguson left, that the Glazers haven’t got things right on the field as well as off the field and Ratcliffe will see this as an opportunity to make a success of things as he has done in all of his other businesses.

‘I think if you’re a United fan, you will hope there is a pathway to see the back of the Glazers and things have been that way for so long.

‘If the Glazers are going at some point, then that will be something they can cling to.

‘The bar has been set so low in terms of recruitment and performance on the field so I have no doubt they will come with a promise they will turn that around as well.

‘So would you accept the Glazers are going to go eventually, with this promise to invest in the playing squad and turn things around on the field? Is that a compromise you’ll be happy with?

‘For a lot of United fans, the sheer fact the Glazers might be going after all the years of misery they have endured, that might be enough for them to accept it.’