Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani both missed the soft deadline for improved takeover bids to be submitted earlier this week, which suggested the Manchester United sale process was becoming a tad farcical.
Both requested extensions and The Raine Group, which is overseeing the process on behalf of the Glazers, unsurprisingly agreed to that. The 'soft deadlines' are merely there to move the takeover process along to the next step.
Ratcliffe submitted his bid on Thursday, one day after the Wednesday soft deadline, but Sheikh Jassim still hadn't submitted his. Around 48 hours of confusion followed, but the second Qatari-led bid was finally acknowledged on Saturday.
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The takeover process has become quite the pantomime and when the curtains close, it's possible it could end in tears. Avram Glazer and Joel Glazer are reluctant sellers of the club and a rejection of the big players would not be a complete shock.
The Qataris want 100 per cent of the club and Ratcliffe wants to buy the combined Glazer shareholding of around 69 per cent, but the American family also have the option of selling a minority stake, with equity firms smelling blood in the water.
A sale of a minority stake, especially to an equity firm that could provide short-term funds, would appear to suit the Glazers, as they would still control their most valued asset, however, it would be a nightmare scenario for supporters.
It would be a disaster, as not only would it waste the opportunity for genuine change with Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe at the table, but it could potentially mean welcoming an equity firm, which solely exists to make a profit.
Such companies would demand a return on their investment. The Glazers have been the only owners in the Premier League to receive dividends in recent years and an equity firm investing in the club would risk bringing even more vultures.
Fortunately for supporters, that nightmare scenario is still far off. Sheikh Jassim's camp 'remain confident' and 'believe their bid is the best for United', while Ratcliffe believes his local roots can help the club become a 'community asset'.
It's clear that a change of ownership is necessary for a brighter future. United fans have protested against the Glazers since their controversial leveraged buyout and should a sale to either Sheikh Jassim or Ratcliffe not happen, chaos would ensue.
Around 10,000 supporters marched against the Glazers from The Tollgate Pub to Old Trafford on a rainy afternoon in August before United played rivals Liverpool and the protest had a militant feel, with supporters' anger tangible.
Just 15 months before that protest, Old Trafford itself was breached following protests against the Glazers amid plans to join the European Super League. The match that day was postponed and green and yellow smoke surrounded the stadium.
The Glazers' apology for the Super League debacle has still not been accepted, although that was never in doubt because there are no words that could have possibly been said to reverse almost two decades of their debt-ridden regime.
Those two particular protests have been the largest in recent memory, but the Glazers should brace themselves for unprecedented backlash and ramifications if a sale of the club does not go through this year.
They have two candidates willing to purchase the club and their greed seems the only potential stumbling block.
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