The Glazer family has reportedly decided to make a full sale of Manchester United, forcing Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe to accelerate his plans to buy the club.
United have previously informed prospective buyers of the club to formalise bids by mid-February amid interest from the Middle East, Asia and America. That led United fan Ratcliffe to go public with his interest in buying the club earlier this month.
The Glazer family, who bought United for £790million back in 2005, put the Old Trafford club on the market in November. Mirror Football understands the family is looking for as much as £8billion to sell - a fee that eclipses the £4.2bn Todd Boehly paid for Chelsea.
The American owners are keen for a speedy sale to be completed in the first quarter of the year. Ratcliffe, who is now on record for wanting to buy his boyhood team, had preferred to hold off on a bid until later in the year – when the club's place in next season's Champions League would be defined.
There is an awareness among potential buyers that any takeover bid would be concluded on the Glazers' terms, in the belief that the controversial United owners believe this is the optimum time to cash in on the club as a number of external factors may see their valuation fall. A report in the Mail has now outlined how the Glazers want a full sale with the process to commence within the next month.
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Ratcliffe entered discussions to buy Chelsea late in the day a year ago and discontinued his interest when he believed the price had become inflated. The businessman already owns French club Nice but he has previously outlined why he has not invested in a Premier League outfit, claiming that it did not represent value for money.
Ratcliffe previously explained to The Times in 2019: "Even though clubs have those valuations today, nobody has ever paid those amounts of money. How much did Abramovich pay for Chelsea, £100 million? The Glazers, what £500 million? You can say it's worth three, four billion but no one has ever paid those sums.
"Ineos has always tried to take a sensible approach. We don't like squandering money or we wouldn’t be where we are today. It's part of our DNA, trying to spend sensibly."
Ratcliffe has previously received calls from the club's fanbase and ex-United director Michael Knighton to get involved in a takeover, but he poured cold water on the suggestion last year. That was before the Glazer family declared their intention of selling the club, leading to Ratcliffe's stance changing.
