The Glazer family, who have led the club for 18 years, will now have to decide whether to accept any of the offers they have received or remain in place.
It is this last scenario that has gained credibility over the five months that the soap opera has already lasted, especially since everything suggests that the bar of 7 billion euros that the Florida family hoped to draw from this sale will not be reached.
"We can confirm that Sheikh Jassim has submitted his final offer," a source close to the matter told AFP minutes after 23 p.m., the deadline set by the owners.
According to the sports news channel Sky Sports, this offer is more than 5.7 billion euros, which would be a world record for this type of transaction.
"We cannot discuss the details of the offer at this stage," the source said, but "Sheikh Jassim's offer also includes a project to invest a substantial sum directly in the capital and infrastructure of the club."
The sheikh's offer also includes the repayment of the club's 700 million euros of debts, the same source said.
Ratcliffe ready to ally with the Glazers
Still according to Sky Sports, the other main candidate for the takeover, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, supporter of the club since early childhood, has also submitted a third offer, but which does not cover the entire capital.
Ineos' British CEO Jim Ratcliffe at the Allianz Riviera in Nice during the Conference League quarter-final second leg between Nice and FC Basel, April 20, 2023 © Valery HACHE / AFP/Archives
In the first two rounds of auctions, mid-February and late March, he targeted the 69% held by the Glazers, 31% remaining in the hands of institutional investors.
From the beginning of the sale process, the businessman who already controls the clubs of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Nice, France, had warned that he would not pay "crazy sums for things that we regret later".
With the Glazer siblings divided over the sale, Jim Ratcliffe would now be willing to leave about 19% to brothers Joel and Avram Glazer, co-presidents of the club, if he becomes the majority shareholder, The Times reported Thursday.
But there is no guarantee that the Glazers would accept a role as minority shareholders, or even that they would sell.
At the end of November, the American family had stressed that there could be "no assurance that (the sale process) will result in a transaction involving the company".
Several investment funds, such as Elliot Investment Management and Carlyle Group, have worked on financial packages allowing the Glazers to remain masters on board and then invest.
The Glazers, masters of clocks
A scenario that fears above all Manchester United fans who harbor a fierce hatred for the Glazers, whose departure has been demanded at every match for many months.
"We have a pressing need for investment, which undoubtedly requires a change of ownership," the Manchester United Supporters' Foundation, MUST, said in a recent statement.
"With a summer transfer window that is only a few weeks away, the announcement of this new delay and prolonged uncertainty is very worrying (...) the process (must be) completed without further delay."
There is a real risk of slowing the momentum created by Erik Ten Hag, on the bench since the summer of 2022 and who has taken Manchester United to a League Cup victory, the FA Cup final and a probable qualification for the Champions League.
But the Glazers, who presided over one of United's worst periods -- the club has not been champions for 10 years and its turnover has fallen below those of local rivals City and Liverpool -- probably don't care and their final decision is not expected for several days.
Manchester United fans demand the departure of the Glazers, owners of the club, during a Premier League match against Everton, on April 8, 2023 at Old Trafford, in Manchester © Paul ELLIS / AFP / Archives
"It is now time for the sellers to make a decision on what to do next," added the source close to the file, highlighting the total vagueness in which everyone seems to be kept on the calendar.
© 2023 AFP