(Football news) The Raine Group have handed potential Manchester United owners Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe an extension for their second bids for the takeover after their request for additional time, as Wednesday’s deadline was missed. Reports have emerged that the Glazer family are interested in selling the club as long as a good enough offer is made. The Qataris have claimed that their new bid is a debt free world record bid for Manchester United but did not submit it yet because they were offered an extension and Sheikh Jassim decided to take it. 

The Glazer family haven’t revealed what their asking price for Manchester United is and even senior figures at the club are not aware of the expectation. It’s understood that eight bids were made to the Raine Group on Wednesday night but many of them were for minority stakes at the club. As things stand, there is no favourite to buy the club and Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s first bids are believed to be in the region of £4.5bn. The Raine Group and Glazers are expected to take a week to analyse the bids.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe previously told the Wall Street Journal that he will not pay a “stupid price” for Manchester United but his intention to buy the club is to win things, calling the club a “community asset”. The INEOS owner and his representatives have been described as sophisticated and impressive during their meeting with Manchester United that lasted six hours. Sheikh Jassim’s Qatari delegation held talks with Manchester United for about 10 hours, a lot longer than expected. The focus of their visit was to get a perspective on what they could do with their capital investment regarding infrastructure, youth development and the women’s team.

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