British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his company INEOS have submitted a revised bid for up-for-sale Premier League club Manchester United.
The Old Trafford club have been put on sale by club owners Glazers Family and New York-based investment banking firm Raine Group has been tasked with handling the sale.
So far, two groups have indicated an interest in purchasing the club–Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS.
Both sides submitted a first bid, but it fell well short of the Glazer family’s widely-reported £6bn asking price. So a second round of bids was expected to be submitted on Wednesday.
However, when the duo couldn’t meet the first deadline, they were granted extensions to submit second bids to buy the club.
But so far, only Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS have come back with a second offer.
The boyhood Manchester United fan, who also owns French Ligue 1 team Nice, confirmed his bid on Thursday night.
After submitting their offer, the group released a brief statement to confirm it.
“Ratcliffe and Ineos can confirm we have submitted a revised bid,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, according to talkSPORT, the Qatari group led by Sheikh Jassim is expected to submit their revised bid in the next 24 hours. The oil-rich Qataris believe they will have the best offer for the club, the fans and the community.
After offers have been submitted, the Raine Group and the Glazers will take around a week to evaluate the new bids.
Any bid of more than £3.75bn would break the world-record fee for a sports club set when the Denver Broncos were sold last summer.
After years of mediocrity which led to a fan-led revolt against the owners, Man United have bounced back this season under Erik ten Hag. The Red Devils are sitting comfortably in the Premier League in the top three and are on course to qualify for the Champions League next season. They recently ended a six-year wait for a trophy when they defeated Newcastle United last month to win the Carabao Cup. They could win a historic treble, given that they are in the semi-finals round of the FA Cup and the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
