Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani is still in contention to buy Manchester United despite contrary reports claiming he had walked away from the deal.
Sheikh Jassim has submitted several offers for the Premier League titans, including his fifth and final bid which is thought to have been worth around £5billion - with a further £1bn of investment into the club also pledged. However, he is not the only figure interested in owning United, as INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is also in contention and has lodged multiple offers.
The pair differ in how much of the Red Devils they actually want to own, with Ratcliffe only seeking 50 per cent while Sheikh Jassim is after 100 per cent and complete control.
The Glazer family, United's current owners, first declared their interest in both a full and partial sale of the club back in November of last year. More than eight months later, there has been no real update in the saga.
Due to the length of time the process has already taken and will continue to take, some have claimed this is a sign that the Glazers have changed their mind regarding the sale or at the very least softened their stance and aren't as desperate to cut ties.
Last week, speculation emerged that Sheikh Jassim, frustrated at how drawn out the whole saga had become, was preparing to walk away from negotiations entirely.
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However, the BBC have since claimed that is not in fact the case and all possibilities remain on the table. The buck stops with the Glazers and ultimately United's owners go some way to setting the pace regarding this takeover.
The same report claims that by Ratcliffe being more open to the idea of keeping the Glazers around even if he were successful with his bid, that initially made the British billionaire a more attractive candidate.
With that being said, multiple deadlines have passed since Ratcliffe made that offer and we are still no closer to discovering who, if anyone, will pry the majority or all of United away from the Glazers.
In turn, this more than likely means more offers from Sheikh Jassim came after Ratcliffe's aforementioned bid and have clearly not been brushed aside by the Glazers.
There is growing frustration among the United fanbase that this story seems be no closer to reaching its end.
Given the summer transfer window is now well underway, manager Erik ten Hag would also surely appreciate some clarity over ongoings at boardroom level so the Dutchman knows how much he has to spend before the new season starts.
