"I've been told..." - Sky Sports reporter drops Man Utd takeover update as "circus" claim made

The Glazers have received less interest in the purchase of Manchester United than they had expected, according to Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol.

In November United’s controversial owners, the Glazer family announced a potential sale of the club, claiming they would “consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company".

With the Americans said to have set a mid-February deadline for takeover offers, it has been widely reported that private investors linked to the Qatari royal family are considering making a bid for the Old Trafford club.

Meanwhile, British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who owns the petrochemical giant Ineos, announced last month he had joined the process to buy United, who he has supported his entire life.

The Glazers are said to be looking for a sale price of £6billion, which would be a world record fee for a sports team. The club are valued at £3.2billion on the New York Stock Exchange.

Man Utd received less interest than Chelsea

According to Sky Sports journalist Solhekol, the public interest in United has not met the Glazers’ expectations, with Ratcliffe the only party to have made a public bid for the club.

Comparing last year's sale of Chelsea to the current bidding process at United, the journalist claimed: “[Chelsea] attracted a lot of people who were serious about buying Chelsea, but a lot of people as well who were looking for publicity, I think that is what’s different.

"As far as Manchester United and Liverpool are concerned, it is not as much of a sort of media circus, but there is interest in buying Manchester United, but I’ve been told that it’s not quite at the level that was expected.

“So far, the only person who’s shown their hand has been the UK businessman to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has come out and said that yes, he would like to buy Manchester United.

“But apart from that, we haven’t had anyone coming out publicly saying that they want to buy the club in the same way that we had with Chelsea."