Manchester United bosses are reportedly furious with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim for failing to submit their bids to buy the club by Wednesday’s deadline.
Much to the delight of many United fans, in November the Glazer family announced that they were open to selling the club.
The American family purchased the Premier League giants back in 2005, and ever since have faced accusations that they are happier to take money out of the club rather than put it in.
United have endured an underwhelming decade since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, and only recently ended a six-year trophy drought.
With new boss Erik ten Hag turning the team’s fortunes around on the pitch and potential new owners on the horizon, United fans are hopeful that the club will soon embark on another era of dominance.
However, the latest development with the bidding process has thrown a spanner in the works.
All potential bidders were given until 9pm on Wednesday night to submit fresh offers for the club, but according to the Telegraph, Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim have angered the United hierarchy by requesting takeover extensions.
Both parties claimed that they had submitted fresh bids, but United confirmed that they had requested extensions until Thursday.
Both are expected to submit offers of over £4 billion on Thursday, below the Glazers’ asking price of between £5-6 billion.
Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are the only bidders to have made their interest in the club public, but there are believed to be eight other parties involved.
It’s understood that Ratcliffe and his INEOS firm are looking at purchasing the Glazers’ 69% controlling stake in the club, while Sheikh Jassim wants to own 100%.
It’s not clear what the delay will mean for the process, but there is a feeling among some United fans that the Glazers could still perform a U-turn.
With United performing well on the pitch and with one trophy already in the bag this season, the family could decide to look for minority investors rather than give up complete control of the club.
Last month Ten Hag remained tight-lipped when asked about the potential sale of the club.
“There’s movement around the club but it’s not up to me. Others at the club are taking [charge of] this stuff and I have to manage the team,” he said.
“I have to make sure the team is perfect and getting the right results. Every third day we have a game so I don’t have time to get involved in stuff like this.
“It’s not distracting us. We are focusing on football, on the games and preparing in training. That is our job to do. It doesn’t distract us, so far so good.”
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