BREAKING: Manchester United Takeover Battle Reach Final Stage

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani has now ‘slipped ahead’ of Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the race to buy Manchester United, it has been claimed.

Both Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and Britain’s richest man Ratcliffe have submitted several bids for the Premier League club.

Speculation is growing that the Qatari banker has been successful with his latest offer, which is understood to be worth around $6.5bn (£5.2bn) – with an additional $1bn (around £800m) of investment in the club also pledged.

However, the BBC claim that exclusivity had not yet been granted by Raine – the banking group handling the sale on behalf of the owners, the Glazers – and that talks are continuing with interested parties.