Where Man Utd would've ranked on most expensive sports sales as Qatar bid off

14 October 2023 , 20:46

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The Glazer family remain the owners of Manchester United after rejecting Sheikh Jassim's latest bid (Image: Getty Images)

A bid of approximately £5.8 billion was rejected to purchase Manchester United which would have set a new world record for the most expensive sports team sale in history.

On Saturday, Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim withdrew from the race to purchase the Premier League giants after his landmark bid was turned down by the Glazer family. Jassim reportedly made the bid in the last few weeks but fell short of the £6bn valuation set by the Americans.

As a result, Jassim has pulled out of the race to buy United, opening the door for rival Sir Jim Ratcliffe. It brings an end to a nine-month saga, which would have likely been the largest sports team sale in history had it gone through.

The value of sports teams in sales increased massively in 2022, but the record sale of the NFL's Washington Commanders surged to the top of the list. The Josh Harris-led consortium completed a £5bn purchase of the Commanders earlier this year, ending Dan Snyder’s controversial tenure in the process.

If the Manchester United sale went through, it would have surpassed the Washington sale and joined Todd Boehly’s purchase of Chelsea FC as the only teams on the list that reside outside the United States. The top 10 most expensive professional sports team sales in history are listed below:

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1. Washington Commanders - £5bn (2023)
2. Chelsea FC - £4.4bn (2022)
3. Denver Broncos - £3.9bn (2022)
4. Phoenix Suns - £3.3bn (2023)
5. Milwaukee Bucks - £2.9bn (2023)
6. New York Mets - £2bn (2020)
7. Brooklyn Nets - £2bn (2019)
8. Carolina Panthers - £1.8bn (2018)
9. Houston Rockets - £1.8bn (2017)
10. Los Angeles Dodgers - £1.7bn (2012)

NBA legend Magic Johnson is part of the consortium that purchased the Washington Commanders earlier this year (Getty Images)

As the Manchester United sale has not been completed at the reported figure, Chelsea FC represents the sole non-U.S. sale on the list. Former owner Roman Abramovich was subject to sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and was forced to sell the team.

In stepped hedge fund billionaire Boehly, who led the consortium to complete the takeover of the Blues. The American is also a part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the iconic MLB franchise that won the World Series in 2020.

American sports franchises are traditionally the most expensive teams thanks to their lucrative media deals - the NFL has £95m in deals with TV networks, Amazon and YouTube TV - as well as the monopoly on the industry, with no relegation. It means teams are essentially appreciating assets.

Andrew Gamble