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Sheikh Jassim was a 'very real' contender in the running to buy Manchester United from the Glazer family before dropping out of the running last year, according to Raine Group co-founder Joe Ravitch. The Glazers appointed Raine to oversee the 15-month-long takeover saga, which concluded with Sir Jim Ratcliffe's investment in February.
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Ratcliffe sealed a 27.7 per cent stake in United in a £1.3billion deal, which saw INEOS inherit total control over the club's football operations.
The 71-year-old tycoon - a boyhood Red Devils supporter - is the largest individual stakeholder at Old Trafford and has wasted no time in handing the fanbase hope of a bright future.
But Sheikh Jassim's presence in the takeover race was a prominent reason for frequent delays, which almost forced Ratcliffe to walk away from the negotiation table before striking an agreement on Christmas Eve.
There are limited public images of the Qatari, and he also wasn't present when representatives visited Old Trafford and Carrington for meetings early in the process.
It led to vast scepticism over whether he actually existed or whether the Qatari competition was a ploy to squeeze a better deal from Ratcliffe.
The new United co-owner, himself, joked about the conspiracy as he addressed the media for the first time after his stake in the club was confirmed.
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He said: "Still, nobody's ever seen him, actually. The Glazers never met him… he never… I'm not sure he exists!"
Ratcliffe also claimed that Sheikh Jassim didn't provide proof of funds and that the alleged Qatari offer was actually far less than what had been briefed to some outlets, describing it as a "very odd affair".
In an interview with The Times, Raine co-founder Ravitch opened up on Sheikh Jassim's involvement in the takeover saga, praising the Qatari party for how they carried themselves.
"We met Jassim. He was in New York. He's a lovely guy, a very smart guy. The Qataris were very real. They were very smart guys, very thoughtful," Ravitch explained.
The banker also discussed how close Sheikh Jassim was to bettering Ratcliffe and completing a full takeover at United, revealing he was "less than 10 per cent" away from an agreement.
He continued: "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. My clients [the Glazers] are also smart guys.
"We thought the value would be around $6.5 billion [about £5 billion], so we were kind of spot on with regards to where Ratcliffe ended up.
"But when the Washington Commanders [NFL team] went for $6 billion we all thought: 'Well, United is the most important sports team in the world; more than a billion fans. The Commanders own one 32nd of the NFL.
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"Their economics are severely limited by the commercial sharing caps placed on it by the league. We know that because the Glazers also own a NFL team.
"Therefore, if someone is willing to pay six billion for the Commanders, someone should be willing to pay more for United.' I think the Qataris got to about $5.75 billion.
"We said to them, 'You're within 10 per cent, why don't you get in a room and try to get to a deal.' But they said no. I think they were very conscious of criticism if they were seen to be overpaying.
"Ultimately, we think they would have been good owners, but we think the Glazers made the right decision not to take the lesser value and go with Ratcliffe instead."
