Manchester United has again been forced to deny that the club is the subject of a takeover approach from Qatar Holding LLC after the Sunday Times reported that the sovereign wealth fund had held talks about a £1.5 billion deal.

The newspaper reported that the discussions, which allegedly took place soon after Qatar secured the hosting rights to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, came to an end because the potential buyer refused to meet the asking price of nearly £2 billion.

“There has been no approach of any kind to buy the club, and one would not be welcome anyway because it is not for sale,” Philip Townsend, a spokesman for Manchester United and the club’s owners, told Bloomberg.

The Glazer family bought Manchester United in 2005 for £790 million. Qatar Holding has assets of around £40 billion, and its chief executive and chairman is Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, the Prime Minister of Qatar.

In June, Sheikh Abdullah al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, completed a buy-out of Spanish top-flight club Malaga, while in December the Qatar Foundation, the charity wing of the ruling family, agreed a €150 million deal to become FC Barcelona’s first paying shirt sponsor.