LONDON, March 25 — Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has submitted a new bid to buy Manchester United which is believed to be worth around £5 billion (RM27 billion), Sky Sports News reported today.

Sheikh Jassim, a son of Qatar’s former prime minister, launched the bid in February. A spokesperson representing Sheikh Jassim said at the time that the bid was completely debt free, via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation.

Manchester United did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus also placed a bid on Thursday and told Reuters that he was willing to pay a premium for the English soccer club.

British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, a life-long United fan and founder of chemicals producer Ineos, put in a bid for the club in February.

United’s current owners, the Glazer family, began looking at options for the record 20-times English champions in November, including new investment or a potential sale, 17 years after they bought the Old Trafford club.

Any sale of the club would likely exceed the biggest sports deal so far, the US$5.2 billion (RM23 billion) including debt and investments paid for Chelsea, sources told Reuters previously. United’s Premier League rivals Liverpool have also said they would explore the option of bringing in investors, while Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi was set to launch a US$3.75 billion bid for Tottenham Hotspur, sources told Reuters in February.

United are the fourth richest soccer club in the world, according to analysis by Deloitte. They are widely seen as one of the most prized assets in all of sport. — Reuters