Manchester United

On Tuesday evening, reports in Qatar claimed that Sheikh Jassim was close to winning the race to purchase the 20-time English champions from the Glazer family.

The Qatari banker is looking to complete a full takeover of Man United, while Ratcliffe is only believed to be bidding for a controlling stake, with the structure of his offer potentially allowing the Glazers to remain as minority shareholders.

Ratcliffe was thought to lead the race earlier this summer, but it is now widely believed that Sheikh Jassim is in pole position to end the long-running saga.

Man United are allegedly close to naming their preferred bidder, but there has still not been an official announcement, and Ratcliffe has revealed that he remains in contention.

"I've signed an non-disclosure agreement so I can't say too much. But there is still a process — and we are in the process," The Sun quotes Ratcliffe as saying.

"We have a good offer and we have met with the Glazers a couple of times. We have had good discussions with them. We would still very much like to do it. And we would be doing it for the right reasons. But in the end it is their decision not our decision.

"Teams don't come around very often. There are some special teams and the value of them tends to go up. The value of teams like this one is very special and rare - like art.

"I don't think the world of sport will change that much in ten years. It is one of our key interests - get the lads in the pub and football is one of the two or three subjects we ever talk about.

"It's football. We've worked really hard all our lives. Now we've made a bit of money so you're allowed to have some fun, so long as it's sensible economically."

In extracts from a book 'Grit, Rigour & Humour: The INEOS Story', the British billionaire branded the Glazers "all very nice" but admitted that it was difficult to deal with them.

Last November, the Glazer family revealed that they were open to selling the club, and the takeover process has been ongoing since then.

The club's plans for the summer transfer window have seemingly been impacted by the uncertainty at ownership level, with head coach Erik ten Hag said to be working to a strict budget in the current market.

Man United made Mason Mount their first signing of the summer on Wednesday, while the club have allegedly lodged a second offer for Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana.