- Sheikh Jassim and INEOS kept in dark over takeover
- Bidder claims to have had 'no communication of late'
- Glazers believe club's value is set to rise
WHAT HAPPENED? There are fears that the United takeover process has been put on hold as Ratcliffe's INEOS firm and Sheikh Jassim's Nine Two Foundation have been given no further information on their bids by the Glazers. According to a report in the I Paper, a source from one of the bidders said they had "not been given any guidance at all on what comes next" and revealed "there's just been no communication whatsoever of late".
THE BIGGER PICTURE: United was effectively put up for so sale when the club released a statement saying the Glazer family were "exploring strategic alternatives". Three rounds of bids were held, while Sheikh Jassim's Nine Two Foundation put in a final bid after the May deadline, which was reported to be £6 billion ($7.6bn). However, not even that was enough to be accepted by the Glazers and the Raine Group which is organising the sale.
AND WHAT'S MORE: The report in the I Paper added that it is thought that the Glazers are not satisfied with the size of the offers from INEOS or the Nine Two Foundation and that they believe the club's value is set to rise even further due to future television rights deals and the surging popularity of football in the United States and elsewhere. United just signed a 10-year extension with kit maker adidas worth £900m ($1.15bn), the biggest such deal in Premier League history.
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WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED? The Red Devils are set to announce the signing of Rasmus Hojlund this week. They then play against Lens at Old Trafford in their penultimate pre-season match.