Manchester United fans were left shocked on Monday evening after reports from Qatar suggested that Sheikh Jassim's bid had been successful and the takeover of their club by the banker would be announced 'soon'.
It's been seven months since the Glazers first announced they would explore 'strategic alternatives' for investment at United, essentially opening the door for a buyout. Several candidates expressed an interest, with a number of deadlines whittling it down to the two frontrunners - Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
With the summer transfer window due to open on Wednesday and Erik ten Hag demanding a summer of significant investment, fans and staff alike are hoping for a swift resolution so focus can be directed towards signings.
Below is a round-up of the latest takeover news.
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Ratcliffe remains 'optimistic'
Sir Jim Ratcliffe remains 'optimistic' he can pip Sheikh Jassim and complete a takeover of United, owing to his proposal that the Glazers maintain a minority stake in the club, according to reports.
Unlike Sheikh Jassim, INEOS founder Ratcliffe is not offering to buy a 100% stake in the club, originally bidding to buy out the Glazers' 69% share and become the majority shareholder. However recent reports suggest that brothers Joel and Avram could keep a small share, with Ratcliffe instead buying just over 50%.
Despite the Qatari camp growing in confidence and submitting a fifth bid last week thought to tip the scales in their favour, the Independent reports due to the range of options they are giving the family with regards to how much they sell.
Such a proposal is a source of anger for United fans, who want to see the Glazer family split from the club entirely, following 18 years of controversial ownership.
Qatari media U-turn on reports
The Qatari media outlet that claimed Sheikh Jassim had won the bidding process to take over Manchester United has backtracked on the original report.
News seemingly broke on Monday evening that the Qatari banker's bid - which is for a 100% takeover from the Glazers - had been successful amid competition from INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Qatari-based media outlet Al Watan claimed announcement was imminent, with their editorial director Fahed al Emadi adding: "The announcement of the deal will be very soon." But Sheikh Jassim's camp have since described the reports as pure speculation, however, stating they remain in a 'holding pattern' and expect the next step to be a consideration of both bids by the board.
On Tuesday, El Emadi seemed to U-turn on the original claims, tweeting: "Contrary to certain media and social media reports overnight, Al Watan is not owned by Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, and Al Watan's media report yesterday speculating about possible movement in the Manchester United takeover process was based on international media reports, as stated in the article itself, and with such news widely circulating periodically in international media for many months."
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