Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani is reportedly the favourite to purchase Manchester United from the Glazer family, with the Qatari banker confident of beating Sir Jim Ratcliffe to a deal.
As it stands, two offers have been submitted for the 20-time English champions, with the bids from Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe thought to be around £4.5bn.
A recent report claimed that Ratcliffe was becoming increasingly confident of winning the race to buy the club, with the British billionaire due to travel to Old Trafford on Friday for a presentation.
However, according to The Guardian, Sheikh Jassim is emerging as the favourite to buy the club.
The report claims that representatives of the Qatari banker will meet with senior Man United officials on Thursday to discuss the purchase of the English giants.
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The Glazers have allegedly 'not yet warmed to Ratcliffe', while the Americans are favouring selling to Sheikh Jassim due to the business opportunities that could open up as part of the sale.
Sheikh Jassim also reportedly wants to purchase 100% of the club and has already signalled that he would be prepared to clear the debt, which is thought to be around £1bn.
Ratcliffe, on the other hand, is only believed to be looking to purchase 69% of the club, while his offer allegedly does not include clearing the outstanding debt.
The valuation of Man United remains an issue when it comes to a potential sale, though, with the Glazers thought to be unwilling to accept an offer of under £6bn, which is £1.5bn more than the offers on the table.
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Any takeover is now highly unlikely to be completed before June, which would not give the proposed new owner much time to plan for the summer transfer window.
Co-owners Avram Glazer and Joel Glazer are thought to be considering keeping hold of the club, but other members of the family are believed to be keen on a sale.
At least another two parties are said to be keeping a close eye on the developments, but Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe are the frontrunners at this stage of proceedings.
Man United have shown huge improvement this season under the management of Erik ten Hag, who delivered the team's first trophy in six years at the end of February, lifting the EFL Cup.
The Red Devils are also chasing success in the Europa League and FA Cup, while they are in a strong position in the Premier League table when it comes to securing a top-four finish.
Matt Law
