Sale of Manchester United: extensions granted for Sheikh Jassim of Qatar and INEOS of Sir Jim Ratcliffe | Soccer News

Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS have been granted extensions to submit a second bid to buy Manchester United.

The two highest bidders had not submitted their improved bids by Wednesday’s 9 p.m. deadline.

Sky Sports News understands that the Glazer family wants to sell the club.

Here’s what happened on a dramatic night of extraordinary developments surrounding the sale of Man Utd:

• 9 p.m.: The deadline for second offers has passed.
• 9:10 p.m.: The Qataris claim to make a new, improved, debt-free world record bid.
• 9:45 p.m.: Raine Group, the company handling the sale of Man Utd, said it had received no offers from Sheikh Jassim or Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS but had given extensions to both parties.
• 10:25 p.m.: Raine Group say they received “many offers” to buy United before the deadline, but not from Qataris or Ratcliffe.
• 10:35 p.m.: Sky Sports News says Glazers want to sell United.
• 10:45 p.m.: The Qataris say they did not submit an offer because they were offered an extension which had been granted to other parties and Sheikh Jassim decided to accept it.
• 10:50 p.m.: The sources involved reveal that Sheikh Jassim’s bid is ready to go and he didn’t need any extra time.

The Glazer family have yet to say how much they want for United, with even the most experienced people involved not knowing the asking price.

It is understood that almost eight offers were sent to Raine on Wednesday night, but not all of them are for buying United.

The Qataris believe they will have the best deal for the club, the fans and the community.

Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe are the main contenders, but there are no favorites at present, with the highest first-round bids having valued the club at around £4.5billion – well below the asking price of £6 billion widely reported by the Glazer family.

The Raine Group and the Glazers will take about a week to evaluate the new offers.

One bidder could be granted exclusivity, although it is more likely that there will be another round of bids with a smaller group of favored bidders.

Ratcliffe and his INEOS delegation were described as impressive and sophisticated in their approach after touring the club for six hours last Friday.

Ratcliffe says he won’t pay a ‘stupid’ price for United but his interest in the club would be ‘purely to win things’, calling the club a ‘community asset’.

It was previously understood that Qatari bidders were determined not to overpay the club’s chances, but that stance has softened in recent days, coinciding with a delegation visit to Old Trafford.

A Qatari delegation traveled to Manchester from London by train and received a warm welcome. The talks went on for 10 hours – much longer than expected.

Sheikh Jassim and his team members had been to Old Trafford before as fans, and the purpose of this visit was to get an idea of ​​what they could do with their capital investment regarding infrastructure, development youth and women’s team.

Any bid over £3.75billion would shatter the world record for a sports club set when the Denver Broncos were sold last summer.

Washington Commanders are also for sale and should change hands for more than that.