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Man United takeover: Will Sheikh Jassim break Ten Hag's 'Ronaldo rule' to make way for Mbappe?

The 'Cristiano Ronaldo rule', first reported in January 2023, claims Manchester United were no longer willing to hand out weekly salaries of over 200,000 pounds.

football Manchester United takeover Will Sheikh Jassim break Ten Hag Cristiano Ronaldo rule to make way for Kylian Mbappe snt
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First Published May 25, 2023, 5:02 PM IST

If Qatar's Sheikh Jassim prevails in the competition to takeover Manchester United, reports suggest that he will defy manager Erik ten Hag's 'Cristiano Ronaldo rule'. 

Jim Ratcliffe, owner of INEOS, and the Qatari group are in a two-horse race for the job at Old Trafford. The parties are awaiting further word from Raine Group, which is representing the Glazer family.

The Glazers have not chosen a preferred bidder, and the process is dragging on as rumour and speculation become louder.

According to those rumours, INEOS may be ahead of the competition despite Sheikh Jassim's last-minute offer of 5.5 billion pounds eight days ago. This is possible because, under a financial expert, the Glazers would "not benefit" from the highest offer.

The appeal of the Qatari proposal is their bottomless pot of money, with Mirror reporting that they have made Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) sensation Kylian Mbappe one of their main priorities. This is true even though Ratcliffe is willing to support United heavily in the transfer market.

Also read: Manchester United takeover race heats up; Qatar's Sheikh Jassim submits final 'take it or leave it' offer

PSG star Neymar has also been linked to a move to Old Trafford in recent times, amid reports that they are also willing to hand Real Madrid a ‘blank cheque’ to land Federico Valverde, who could be available with Jude Bellingham on the verge of a move to the Santiago Bernabeu. 

Any of those additions would probably compel Manchester United to depart from manager Erik ten Hag's so-called 'Ronaldo rule', which has served as a benchmark for the team's most recent transfer negotiations.

The Daily Mail broke the story of the 'Ronaldo rule' in January, alleging that the Red Devils were no longer willing to pay weekly salaries of more than 200,000 pounds.

They sought to seize control of the club's excessive pay budget, which, at 384 million pounds last year. Manchester United also sought to do rid of any jealousy in the locker room and simplify contract discussions with current players.

As one of the first Manchester United players to experience the 'Ronaldo rule', goalkeeper David De Gea is expected to sign a contract that will cut his current weekly wage of 375,000 pounds in half.

Also read: Why Sir Alex Ferguson apologised to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after slamming him for Cristiano Ronaldo axe?

Gary Neville, a former United great, responded to the 'Ronaldo rule' by being perplexed by a regulation that would prevent transfers for Mbappe and company.

"Capping wages is a radical policy. Rules out [Declan] Rice, [Jude] Bellingham and others in that bracket. Any new owners would probably want to enter the running for these types and probably [Kylian] Mbappe as well. 200k won’t get you Rice or Bellingham let alone Mbappe!" said Neville.

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