According to academic expert on the Gulf, Chris Davidson, Sheikh Jassim's bid for United is being partly influenced by Qatar Holdings's purchase of Harrods for £1.5bn back in 2010.
The purchase raised eyebrows at the time with the bid far exceeding all expectations as Qatar flexed their financial muscle.
And Davidson believes the lessons learnt from the Harrods purchase are being used in the Qatari bid for United.
He told the Independent: "It’s a very different approach. I think this is an example of Qatar learning a lesson they found out the hard way on Harrods, where they were repeatedly pilloried for having overpaid. They really wanted Harrods. It’s a particularly glamorous brand for people from the Gulf. The status it has given them among their Gulf rivals – not so much in the UK – is enormous. They were willing to overpay for that. I’m sure they’d be willing to overpay for Man United, too, but I think this was a case of having learnt their lesson.”
