- Takeover talks still going on
- Qatari and Ratcliffe bids are favourites
- Glazers keeping other options open
WHAT HAPPENED? Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe appeared to be the only candidates in with a real chance of buying the club from the Glazer family. However, the Daily Mail claims that the current owners are still negotiating with other investment groups.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The Glazers are demanding around £6 billion ($7.6bn) for the club, but neither Sheikh Jassim nor Ratcliffe's groups have met their asking price. The Qatari camp remain confident that they will eventually get the nod to take over, having offered a complete takeover, while Ratcliffe's bid will allow the Glazers to hold a minority stake in United for a period of time.
AND WHAT'S MORE: The takeover process has been dragging on since last November and looks set to continue for a while longer. It was initially hoped that a deal would be completed early in the summer, but it will continue through the beginning of the new Premier League season at least.
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WHAT NEXT FOR UNITED? The current owners will continue to find a party worth taking over the club while Erik ten Hag and his team prepare for the new season.