For the second time in back-to-back outings, Lewis Hamilton‘s much-anticipated dream to be a co-owner of a Premier League club has met a brutal end. After Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, a son of Qatar’s former Prime Minister, launched a massive £4 billion [$4.8 billion] bid to buy Manchester United, there is little time Jim Ratcliffe has to match it. The bid comes after the Glazer family, owners of the Old Trafford club put it up for sale in December 2022.

With a reported 650 million fans worldwide, Manchester United is surely one of the top soccer clubs in the world. From investors to celebrities, there were reports of multiple bids for the ownership of the club. One among them was believed to be from $285 million worth Lewis Hamilton, along with Jim Ratcliffe, chairperson of INEOS and co-owner of Mercedes AMG F1 team who had their bid backed by the US banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

Hamilton, however, declined to share if he was involved in the deal, unlike last time with Chelsea. As per Planet F1, Hamilton told, “I haven’t had a call from him asking if I want to be involved in that just yet. But I do want to get more and more involved in teams because I really do believe in black ownership. There is a lack of it in sports. And black equity, again, there is a real lack of that.”

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Admittedly, Lewis Hamilton is a co-owner of the American NFL team Denver Broncos. Earlier, the Mercedes driver was linked with a bid with Ratcliffe and tennis star Serena Williams over the purchase of another Premier League club Chelsea.

Lewis Hamilton is always passionate about soccer

Lewis Hamilton is an ardent soccer fan. Apart from spending time at the grid or on his simulator, the Briton finds good time watching Arsenal play. A die-hard Gunner, the Mercedes man often talks about soccer with Ratcliffe.

Hamilton shared, “I am very close with Jim, so I am aware of where he is at [with United]. We talk a lot about football [Soccer] as he is very passionate about it.”

“We have great discussions about what his team is doing, we talk about how Arsenal is playing. Obviously, he is from Manchester, so that is his dream home… where he comes from. But there is no further information I can give you on that.”

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Lewis Hamilton currently gears up to start his 17th season in Formula 1, and 11th with Mercedes. It is believed that the Briton will look to push for the ultimate eight-time world championship in 2023.