Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe prepared to play long game for Manchester United takeover

The Glazers considered the sale of the club 10 months ago

Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe prepared to be patient in buying Manchester United. It has been 10 months since the Glazers served notice of the potential sale of the club.

According to reports, Sheikh Jassim's representatives are unsure whether the American family still wishes to sell the club. The ones who are acting for Sir Ratcliffe are more confident that the Glazers will sell the club.

Both Sheikh Jassim, a Qatari banker, and Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s richest people, have not set a timeframe regarding a resolution.

According to reports from the Mail, the Glazers were holding out for a much higher bid of around £10 billion. The report said the Glazers would wait until 2025 to sell the club, when increased television rights revenues and the expansion of the football World Cup could make the club appear more valuable.

Sheikh Jassim has made a series of bids for the club that culminated in the lodging of a fifth and final offer in early June of no more than £6bn. Ratcliffe’s offer is to purchase a little more than 50% of United and possibly keep one or more of the Glazers as minority owners. Yet each party is yet to hear from the Raine Group, the US bank which is handling any sale.

Meanwhile, United have confirmed they have agreed a deal with the US technology company Qualcomm, with its Snapdragon brand replacing the TeamViewer logo as their front-of-shirt sponsor from next season – a move some have interpreted as indicating an imminent takeover is unlikely.

The club did not disclose the financial details of the deal but it believed Qualcomm’s and United’s contract is for a minimum of three years and is worth £60m per year.