Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS have been granted extensions to submit second bids to buy Manchester United.
Both of the top bidders had not submitted their improved offers by Wednesday’s 9pm deadline.
Sky Sports News understands the Glazer family do want to sell the club.
Here’s what happened on a dramatic night of extraordinary developments around the sale of Man Utd:
- 9pm: Deadline for second bids passes.
- 9.10pm: Qataris claim to make new, improved, debt-free world-record bid.
- 9.45pm: Raine Group, the firm handling the sale of Man Utd, say they did not receive bids from Sheikh Jassim or Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS but have granted extensions for both parties.
- 10.25pm: Raine Group say they have received “many proposals” to buy United before deadline but not from Qataris or Ratcliffe.
- 10.35pm: Sky Sports News told that Glazers do want to sell United.
- 10.45pm: Qataris say they did not submit bid because they were offered an extension which had been granted to other parties and Sheikh Jassim decided to take it up.
- 10.50pm: Sources involved reveal Sheikh Jassim’s bid is ready to go and he did not need extra time.
Image: Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol has been following the Manchester United takeover story closely
The Glazer family have still not indicated how much they want for United, with even the most senior people involved not knowing the asking price.
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It is understood approaching eight bids were sent in to Raine on Wednesday night, but not all of them are to buy United outright.
The Qataris believe they will have the best offer for the club, the fans and the community.
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Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe are the leading contenders but there is no favourite at present, with the highest first-round bids having valued the club at around £4.5bn – well short of the Glazer family’s widely reported £6bn asking price.
The Raine Group and the Glazers will take around a week to evaluate the new bids.
One bidder could be given exclusivity, although it is more likely there will be another round of bids with a smaller group of preferred bidders.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrives at Old Trafford on Friday as talks continue about a potential takeover of Manchester United
Ratcliffe and his INEOS delegation have been described as impressive and sophisticated in their approach having visited the club for six hours last Friday.
Ratcliffe says he will not pay a “stupid” price for United but his interest in the club would be “purely in winning things”, calling the club a “community asset”.
It was previously understood the Qatari bidders were determined not to pay over the odds for the club, but that stance has softened in recent days coinciding with a delegation’s visit to Old Trafford.
A Qatari delegation travelled to Manchester from London by train and received a warm welcome. Talks were held across 10 hours – a lot longer than expected.
Sheikh Jassim and members of his team had been to Old Trafford as fans before, and the focus of this visit was to get a perspective on what they could do with their capital investment regarding infrastructure, youth development and the women’s team.
Any bid of more than £3.75bn would break the world record fee for a sports club set when the Denver Broncos were sold last summer.
The Washington Commanders are also up for sale and are expected to change hands for more than that.
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