Manchester United takeover talks heat up as unnamed third bird reportedly joins the running

The race to buy Manchester United appears to be heating up after reports that a third, unnamed bidder has entered the takeover talks.

In November 2022, current owners the Glazer family announced they were “exploring strategic alternatives” for the 20-time English champions which could involve an outright sale of the club. US bank Raine Group, who are overseeing the potential deal, imposed a soft deadline of February 17 2023 for interested parties to place their initial bids.

Since then, high-profile bids from Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, the son of the former Qatari PM, and British billionaire and INEOS CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe have both progressed to the next round of negotiations.

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However, according to a report published by The Sun, an as yet unnamed, under-the-radar third bid is believed to have entered the fray.

Bidders will visit Old Trafford and meet with the Raine Group over the next two weeks, with the mystery party – thought to be US-based – also on the guest list.

News of a possible sale will no doubt delight those Red Devils fans who have been vocal in their dislike of the Glazers, whose purchase of Man Utd back in 2005 in a highly leveraged deal has been criticised for loading debt onto the club.

But even with rumours of a third bid circulating, there remain growing concerns that a sale may not ultimately take place.

Two of the Glazer brothers, co-chairmen Joel and Avram, appear less inclined than their siblings to sell while further issues could arise from the fact their £6bn valuation of the club has so far not been met by either INEOS or Sheikh Jassim, who both value the club closer to £4.5bn.

Uncertainty over a genuine willingness to sell is only compounded by the extremely short turnaround for completion which has been given a deadline of 31 May by the Glazers.

The need for bidders to evaluate the true value of United, as well as the cost of upgrading or building a new stadium entirely and the amount of debt to be paid off gives them very little time to formulate a deal and begin negotiations.

As it stands, the Qatari bid envisages a 100% takeover while INEOS are seeking to buy out the Glazers’ 69% majority shareholding.