With the Manchester United takeover saga now drawing to a close, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has pledged to invest an additional $1bn (£800million) into the club's infrastructure and facilities in a bid to beat Sir Jim Ratcliffe to a deal.
Ratcliffe, the chief of petrochemicals giant Ineos, is believed to have valued the club at a higher price than Sheikh Jassim and the other rival bids that were submitted during the third and final stage of the process last week.
Furthermore, the lifelong Manchester United fan would also be open to accommodating the wishes of Avram and Joel Glazer by allowing the pair to retain a small stake in the club. Ratcliffe's initial offer is for the Glazers' controlling 69 per cent stake, rather than 100 per cent of the club.
However, a fresh report from City AM has outlined that Sheikh Jassim's final offer for the club, which stands at around £5bn, includes an additional £800m, which would be set aside for improving the club's infrastructure; mainly much-needed renovations at Old Trafford and the club's Carrington training facilities.
The facilities at Manchester United were heavily criticised just months ago by Cristiano Ronaldo, who claimed that there had been minimal developments made to the club's infrastructure since his initial departure back in 2009.
And he stressed that improvements should be made considering the size and stature of the club during his explosive, controversial interview with Piers Morgan prior to his departure.
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"Nothing changed [since I left]," Ronaldo told TalkTV back in November. "The pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym, even some technology. Even the chefs who I appreciate, lovely people. I thought I would see new technology, infrastructure. I saw things I saw when I was 20, 21, 23."
Others have also criticised the state of Old Trafford in recent years, including Ronaldo's former teammate, Gary Neville, who has admitted that the club have "fallen behind" several of their Premier League rivals in terms of the quality of their facilities.
The likes of Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe now face an anxious wait while the Glazers mull over their final decision. Although the current Manchester United owners invited takeover offers when they announced they were exploring "strategic alternatives" back in November, there has been plenty of speculation that they could, in fact, decide to retain their controlling share and instead sell a minority stake in the club to a hedge fund.
Raine Group, the US bank overseeing the process for the Glazer family, are expected to be in a position where they can announce a preferred bidder imminently after the deadline for third and final bids passed at the end of last week.
