18 March 2023 , 01:00
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Both leading parties in the race to buy Manchester United are set to submit second offers to the Glazers next week after each holding positive meetings with club officials.
A Qatari delegation for Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani's bid visited Manchester on Thursday, spending 10 hours with United chiefs as they discussed a range of subjects in depth relating to both on and off the field matters. Sir Jim Ratcliffe - who visited in person along with his INEOS entourage - then made the trip on Friday, also touring Old Trafford and the club's Carrington training complex before holding substantive talks which went well, according to BBC Sport.
With the two bidding parties still committed to a full takeover and the prospect of succeeding the much-maligned Glazer family, a series of reports suggest that Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe will each make follow-up proposals in the coming days.
While Mirror Football understands that the Qatari banker will lodge a fresh bid in excess of the £4.5billion offer which he initially lodged in February, CBS Sports are reporting that Ratcliffe is preparing to do the same. As founder of chemical giants INEOS, the Manchester-born billionaire hopes to use his local roots to help win the race.
Greeted by United chief executive Richard Arnold at the players' entrance of Old Trafford just before 10am on Friday morning, Ratcliffe was joined by INEOS director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford, formerly the supremo of British Cycling and Team Sky. Also there were INEOS co-owners Andy Currie and John Reece, and the company's sport chiefs, Rob Nevin and Jean Claude Blanc.
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Sheikh Jassim, on the other hand, didn't make the visit and was instead chiefly represented by Shahzad Shahbaz, the president of his newly-formed Nine Two Foundation which is said be named after the year he began supporting United. Alongside Shahbaz was Fady Bakhos - the Sheikh's legal, corporate and investment advisor - Sam Powers and representatives from Bank of America.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani didn't visit Manchester United in person for critical talksHave your say! Who'd be the better owner for Man Utd - Ratcliffe or Sheikh Jassim? Let us know in the comments section.
Al Thani, who's the son of a former Qatari prime minister, gave himself no chance of meeting United manager Erik ten Hag - unlike Ratcliffe and his travelling clan, who were fortunate enough to bump into the boss at Carrington. "I just met them, we shook hands," Ten Hag told a press conference ahead of Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final match at home to Fulham.
"I'm focused on the game. We play a big game on Sunday, all our focus is on that, others in the club are dealing with potential investors." The Dutchman later reiterated: "My job in this moment is focus on the game so let's talk about the game, it's a big tie and we have to get ready for that."