Man Utd takeover LIVE – £2bn promise made if Glazers refuse to sell

US banking firm, Raine Group, received the first bids for a takeover at Manchester United earlier this month after the Glazers set a ‘soft deadline’ for any prospective bidders for February 17. Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani became the first to submit an official offer, swiftly followed by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

They’ve also been joined by American hedge fund Elliott Management, with conflicting reports on whether the former AC Milan financiers are willing to buy a minority or majority stake. The amount of interest in buying United has led to much excitement among the United fanbase, who have been pushing for the Glazers to leave the club for several years now.

The Qatari-led bid was said to be for 100 per cent of the club while Ratcliffe, Britain’s richest person, is supposedly interested in acquiring 69 per cent of the shares. All three bidders will now be given access to a ‘data room’, where they will have access to relevant financial information about the club.

For context, Chelsea’s sale to Todd Boehly’s consortium last year took several months and there could be a similar timeline with United’s potential new owners. But the next few weeks are set to be key to see whether any late bids arrive or whether the Glazers are happy with one of the current bidders.