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[ad_1] MANCHESTER: A leading Manchester United fans' group called on Sunday for clarity on the future of the English giants amid speculation British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is set to take a minority stake in the club. United's owners, the American Glazer family, announced nearly a year ago that they were exploring "strategic alternatives to enhance the club's growth", with a full sale one of the options. Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani withdrew his attempt to buy the 20-time English champions, a source close to the bid told AFP on Saturday. Ratcliffe was the other frontrunner during several rounds of bidding, but no offer has yet met the £6 billion ($7.2 billion) valuation put on the club by the Glazers. Founder of petrochemicals giant Ineos, Ratcliffe will now settle for a 25 percent stake for around £1.3 billion, the BBC said on Sunday. Ineos will reportedly seek to take control of the sporting side of United's business in retu

[ad_1] LONDON: Rival bidders for Manchester United have been invited to submit a third offer by the end of April, according to reports. Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe both submitted a second bid for the Premier League club last month. Several offers are understood to have been received in recent weeks but Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe remain the front runners to buy United should the Glazers give up control of the club they bought in 2005 for £790 million ($980 million). United's unpopular owners announced in November they were conducting a strategic review, with the sale of the club one option being considered. The Qatari group has reportedly made an offer of about £5 billion for 100 percent ownership of the club while Ratcliffe , a boyhood United fan, wants to buy the combined Glazer shareholding of 69 percent. The Americans' asking price is believed to be around $6 billion -- a figure that