Manchester United's takeover battle could finally be heading towards a conclusion after the Glazers reportedly made their preference clear in selling a stake in the club. Reports suggest that Sheikh Jassim is set to be left disappointed despite the Qatari billionaire's strong commitment to a 100 per cent takeover, with the Glazers now leaning towards accepting Sir Jim Ratcliffe's bid for a minority stake.
Since the Glazers announced in November 2022 that they would be inviting proposals to invest in the club, there have been two frontrunners, Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe, in their bid to take a majority stake in the Premier League club.
However, the American family's reluctance to sell below their asking price - estimated to be PS6bilion - has caused the takeover battle to drag on.
But according to Bloomberg, new information suggests the Glazer family now consider Ratcliffe's revised offer for a minority stake to be 'more attractive' than Sheikh Jassim's offer for a total buyout.
The United board are set to arrange a meeting in the coming days to 'discuss the proposal', and it could spell the end of Sheikh Jassim and Qatar's hopes of shoehorning their way into English football.
It will come as a blow to the Qatar royal, who according to outlet Alkass TV Sports this week was 'very close' to completing a United takeover. It follows reports from The Sun in August claiming the Qatari's Nine Two Foundation were convinced they would seal a deal before November.
But the lack of progress made since the final bids were submitted in February has cast doubt on Sheikh Jassim's chances of success.
Despite dozens of protests among the club's supporters gathering support and increasing frustration between bidders and potential investors, the Glazers have elongated the process as they weigh up their options with US finance firm Raine.
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Sheikh Jassim's camp had previously told the Glazers: "You either give us everything, or we're walking away!" after tensions threatened to boil over.
But it seems his threat has fallen on deaf ears, with Ratcliffe's bid viewed more favourably, despite the Qatari royal's apparent view that Ratcliffe's willingness to revise his offer for just a 25 per cent stake is a mere tactic to tilt the race in his favour.