Red Devils

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Negotiations are currently taking place with ‘multiple parties’ as the Manchester United takeover saga rumbles on.

With the season rapidly approaching, concerns had been raised that a long-running process which started last November might be paused to allow the club’s owners, the Glazer family, to reassess their options.

However, Mail Sport understands that the current situation is that discussions are continuing with a number of groups with a view to a full sale or partial investment.

The two frontrunners to take over at Old Trafford are Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Both have lodged bids which value United at around £5bn. While Sheikh Jassim’s offer is for a total buyout, the Ratcliffe proposal is for a staged takeover which would allow members of the Glazer family to retain their interest for a set period.

There remains a confidence among some close to the Sheikh Jassim bid that they will prevail. However, neither group is thought to have got close to the £6bn that the Glazer are reportedly seeking.

That has raised the prospect that the Americans, deeply unpopular with large sections of United’s fanbase since their leveraged, debt-burdening takeover at Old Trafford in 2005, will instead take one of the offers from other investment groups for a partial stake in the club. Sources have disclosed that discussions are taking place ‘with multiple parties’.

Such a move would, in theory, provide the funds to give United’s home and training complex desperately-needed refurbishments.

Mail Sport can also disclose that architects who have previously worked on a range of plans for such upgrades, which include the building of a new stadium, have not been asked to draft new, scaled-down proposals.

While the delay has caused frustration – both groups seeking a takeover believed that a deal would have been completed before the opening of the transfer window – it has not had an impact on manager Erik ten Hag’s summer business given the club are restricted over what they can spend by UEFA’s financial rules.

Earlier this week, United announced a 10-year extension to their partnership with kit makers adidas worth a minimum of £900m, which is thought to be the biggest kit deal in Premier League history based on revenue per season.

While the development will have buoyed United officials, it is unlikely to have impacted on negotiations which are being by US merchant bank Raine Group. Interested parties were given presentations on the financial state of the club during the sales process which are understood to have been ‘bullish’ and which factored in likely revenue increases such as a new kit deal.