Manchester United sale: Qatari ‘world-record’ bid not received as extension granted by Raine Group | Football News

Raine Group, the firm handling the sale of Manchester United, have not received new bids from Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim or Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS, despite the Qataris claiming to have made a new world-record bid for the club before Wednesday’s 9pm deadline.

Both of the top bidders have independently asked for an extension and the Raine Group have granted these requests, but how long that extension lasts is not yet known.

The Glazer family have still not indicated how much they want for Utd with even the most senior people involved not knowing the asking price, but Sky Sports News has been told they do want to sell the club.

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 dramatic developments come after Sheikh Jassim and his representatives claimed they had tabled an improved, debt-free bid before Wednesday’s deadline.

The Qataris believe it is the best offer for the club, the fans and the community.

Meanwhile, it was not confirmed whether Ratcliffe’s INEOS had bid before the deadline but senior sources in New York, where the Raine Group operate, have said they asked for extension.

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.

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 as well.