here was a bizarre development in sales Manchester United if neither Sheikh Jassim nor Sir Jim Ratcliffe takeover bids submitted before the Wednesday 9:00 pm deadline.
Representatives for Qatari and Ineos said their bids were in, but sources at United said they had not been received.
Both parties have been granted a postponement and the bids are now expected to be made on Thursday.
The Glazer family confirmed in November that they were open to selling United and have valued the club at £6 billion. The highest bids in the first round were around £4.5 billion, well below that valuation.
Both sides have kept the size of their offers close to the chest and are not commenting publicly.
Any bid over £3.75 billion would break the world record for a sports club set when the Denver Broncos were sold last summer.
Sheikh Jassim wants to complete a full takeover. His Qatari consortium has said the bid “intends to return the club to its former glory”.
Ineos wants to buy the combined Glazer share of about 69 percent. Manchester-born Ratcliffe has said he would aim to “bring the Manchester back to Manchester United”.