The Glazers won't budge from their asking price for Manchester United after it emerged that the club's owners were seeking a full sale.
It was confirmed in November that the American family were open to offers and actively 'exploring strategic alternatives', but now United officials are believed to be expecting a wholesale takeover. Mirror Football understands that the Glazers could hold out for up to £8billion - a world-record sum for a football club by some distance - and a fresh report claims that the bigwigs at Old Trafford will remain steadfast in their demands.
United's much-maligned owners will refuse to drop their asking price as bidding steps up, according to the Mail. A mid-February deadline for proposals has been mooted, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe currently the only party to have confirmed their intention to make a serious offer.
"We have formally put ourselves into the process," a spokesman for Ratcliffe, chairman of chemical giants INEOS, confirmed to the Times earlier this month. As one of Britain's richest men, boasting a net worth of £12.5bn, the 70-year-old declares himself a boyhood United fan, although he admits to having "split allegiance" with Premier League rivals Chelsea due to working in London as he built his chemicals empire.
With INEOS also owning French club Nice and being the principal partner of Formula One team Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Ratcliffe is keen to expand his sporting portfolio if the conditions are right. The Lancashire-born businessman certainly has the backing of some supporters, with his face plastered on anti-Glazer protests from disgruntled fans earlier this season.
A few months later, the Glazers made the announcement that many had been waiting for since taking full control of the club in a leveraged buyout deal 18 years ago. "Manchester United plc, one of the most successful and historic sports clubs in the world, announces today that the Company's Board of Directors is commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives for the club," a statement read.
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"The process is designed to enhance the club's future growth, with the ultimate goal of positioning the club to capitalise on opportunities both on the pitch and commercially. As part of this process, the Board will consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the Company.
"This will include an assessment of several initiatives to strengthen the club, including stadium and infrastructure redevelopment, and expansion of the club's commercial operations on a global scale, each in the context of enhancing the long-term success of the club's men's, women's and academy teams, and bringing benefits to fans and other stakeholders."
Ratcliffe is expected to face competition from across the globe, with unnamed investors from the United States, Asia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia tipped to weigh in with a bid. Whoever wins the race will get their hands on arguably the biggest sporting enterprise on the planet.
