At least eight groups are involved in negotiations with Man Utd over the ownership situation, according to The Telegraph.
The Glazer family announced in November 2022 they were conducting a strategic review, with the sale of the club one option being considered.
Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and British billionaire Ratcliffe have made offers to buy the club to American merchant bankers Raine, which was brought in to assist the club in assessing offers.
It was revealed on Wednesday that Ratcliffe is due to fly in on Thursday to attend the presentation by Man Utd’s management team alongside INEOS sport representatives.
Representatives for Sheikh Jassim are also expected to attend Old Trafford this week.
Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe are notably in the running, though brokers have also met with US hedge fund Elliott Management.
Not all of the eight are interested in a full takeover – including the aforementioned Elliott Management.
Talks over the next week or so will be crucial in the bidding process, with the Glazers set to decide which parties will advance to the third stage of negotiations.
There are hopes that a takeover will be complete by the end of April with everything going to plan so far, though it is believed that the Glazers are feeling ‘underwhelmed’ by the offers they have received.
The Glazers reportedly want around £6billion to sell Man Utd, but this report states that their asking price is now around £5bn.
Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe have emphasised their desire to complete a full takeover. The report adds that two other parties are keen on these terms.
Previous AC Milan owners, Elliott, would be ‘prepared’ to finance a takeover; as are US hedge funds Ares, MSD Partners and Oaktree Capital.
Meanwhile, there are some worries over Man Utd’s participation in UEFA competitions should the Qatari or Ratcliffe buy the club.
The latter owns French club OGC Nice, while there are concerns about links between Sheikh Jassim and Paris Saint-Germain, who are Qatar-owned.
Currently, clubs under the same ownership can not compete in the Champions League simultaneously, though UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has admitted a rethink of rules is needed.
“We are not thinking about Manchester United only,” Ceferin said.
“We’ve had five or six owners of clubs who want to buy another club. We have to see what to do. The options are that it stays like that or that we allow them to play in the same competition. I’m not sure yet.
“We have to speak about these regulations and see what to do about it. There is more and more interest in this multi-club ownership. We shouldn’t just say no for the investments for multi-club ownership, but we have to see what kind of rules we set in that case, because the rules have to be strict.”
READ MORE: The Glazers are going. Now the fight against Qatar for Man Utd’s soul must begin…
