Simon Jordan has warning for Man United fans about takeover they won't like

Sheikh Jassim Bin Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are in the running to purchase full control of the club despite their first offers falling short of the Glazer family's £6billion asking price.

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As a result, they were both put through to the second round of bidding but neither were believed to have submitted their offer before Wednesday's 9pm deadline.

This led to the deadline being extended for both parties although associates of Sheikh Jassim were told an offer was submitted before the deadline.

World-record bids from both parties in the region of £5 billion are now expected before the end of the week.

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However, former Crystal Palace owner Jordan believes there was no extension put in place to begin with.

"We've always said from the get-go, if they [the Glazers] get the price they want - and it's probably slightly north of £5billion, it certainly isn't £6billion - [they will sell]," Jordan said.

"There is a lot of misrepresentation in this - no one is getting extensions, because ultimately nobody expected anyone to put a drop-dead deal in place.

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"What you've got is indicative offers, that's the first stage. Show you've got the money, show you've got the means, show you've got the will - that gets you in the door.

"That then slims down the list of all the tyre-kickers and you get in a position of competitive tension. The Raine Group are doing their job which is to represent the Glazers and try to jack the price up between the various people who want to buy it.

"It's not about deadlines, it's just the process of selling a business."

Jordan also had some words of warning for United fans, insisting they shouldn't get too excited yet as the Glazer's exit is likely to take some time.

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Jordan added: "The reason why this is finding so much yin and yang is because the media are pulling at the strings and the Raine group are using the media to create that competitive tension.

"The truth is, this can drag on as long as the Glazers want it to until they get their price.

"It's not set by deadlines, it's set by commercial gain and if it takes six months to sell the business because you're playing two sides against one another, that's what it will take."

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