UK’s richest man, Qatar make rival offers for Manchester United

Rival bids have been officially launched to take over Manchester United in what looms as the most expensive purchase of a sporting club in history.

UK’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of chemicals company INEOS, submitted a bid before a so-called ‘soft’ deadline of 9 am AEDT (o2:00 GMT) on February 18, according to Fox Sports.

That followed an announcement from Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), that his Qatari consortium had submitted an offer to take over the Premier League giants.

Other bids were expected – and could still happen after the deadline - including investors from the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Current United owners the Glazer family are hoping to receive at least five billion pounds ($8.75bn AUD) for the club they took full control of in 2015. That would comfortably surpass Chelsea and NFL franchise the Denver Broncos - both sold in 2022 - as the richest takeover deal in sporting history.