16 February 2023 , 10:50
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With Friday's 'soft' deadline for investors to submit bids for Manchester United, fans will hope to learn more about the identity of the club's potential new owners.
Four parties are understood to be interested in buying United from the Glazer family, having formally registered their intent with the Raine Group, the US investment banking firm facilitating the sale. The Raine Group set Friday's deadline for interested parties to serve notice of their intention to buy United and display proof of funds available to go through with any purchase.
With United regarded as the biggest football club in the world, with an estimated global fanbase of 333million, interest in purchasing the club has come from all corners of the world.
Formal bids are set to be made from Qatar, the USA, the UK and Saudi Arabia, with United fans desperate to finally be rid of the Glazers after their toxic two decades of ownership.
First to declare his interest in buying United was Britain's richest man, INEOS owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has an estimated personal fortune of £6bn.
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Ratcliffe, a lifelong United fan, was unsuccessful in trying to buy Chelsea last summer, so has turned his attention to his boyhood club.
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The Glazers are finally ready to sell Man Utd - but want £6billion (Getty Images)The 71-year-old faces stiff competition, not least from a Qatar-backed consortium, who are understood to be willing to pay £4.5bn for United, £1.5bn shy of the Glazers' asking price.
United co-chairman Avram Glazer was in Dubai recently and took the opportunity there to speak to Qatari investors about selling them a minority stake in United, with a potential full sale also under discussion.
A bid is expected to be lodged from a Saudi Arabia investment group, despite owners from the country having already taken control of Newcastle.
UEFA rules prevent multi-club ownership, to preserve competitive integrity, an issue for the Saudi and Qatar bids, given their respective ownership of Newcastle and Paris St Germain.
But it is understood the bids for United would be allowed, if it can be demonstrated that those involved in the attempted purchase are completely separate entities to the owners of Newcastle and PSG.
Twitter and Tesla owner Elon Musk, the world's second richest man with a personal fortune estimated at £157bn, has also emerged as a potential United buyer.
Despite firm interest from several parties, it is understood United co-chairmen, Avram and Joel Glazer, are considering buying out the rest of their family, to remain in overall control of the club, although a full sale is still expected.
Whoever ends up buying United, supporters have demanded a bigger say in how the club is run and representation on the board, after being snubbed by the Glazers for much of their controversial 18 years running the club.
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Only after protests and demonstrations – one which saw United's Premier League game against arch rivals Liverpool called off in 2021 after fans stormed Old Trafford – did the Glazers begin dialogue with the club's fans.