Qatar's Sheikh Jassim bin Hamas Al Thani has submitted his second bid for Manchester United.
The offer was placed with the club overnight, according to the Press Association news agency. A source close to the bid is reported as saying the Qataris remain confident of completing a takeover despite rival interest from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus.
Interested parties were required to submit their bids to the Raine group - who are marketing the sale - before they closed for business at 5pm in New York (9pm UK time). It was initially understood that Sheikh Jassim had lodged a fresh bid for United, but reports late on Wednesday night claimed a bid had not yet been made and that they had instead requested an extension - which was accepted.
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The process will now see the Glazers and the Raine Group take roughly a week to evaluate the new bids and decide on what they want to do next.
There is no guarantee that the Glazer family will accept a bid and sell United, and they could still decide to sell a minority stake and use capital raised to pay down debt and invest for growth.
Sheikh Jassim is likely to face competition from Sir Jim Ratcliffe, whose INEOS group also made an improved bid prior to the deadline on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, other known bidders include Elliott Management.
A Qatari delegation travelled to Manchester last week and spent 10 hours with club executives - visiting both Old Trafford and the Carrington complex. While it was previously understood that Sheikh Jassim would not overpay for United, the stance softened following the initial meeting with the club.
While one bidder could be handed exclusivity, there is a chance that there will be an additional round of bids with a smaller group of preferred bidders.
The current record sale for a sports club came when the Denver Broncos were sold for more than £3.75bn last summer.
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