Sir Jim Ratcliffe Takes 'Pole Position' to Buy Manchester United

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly in pole position to buy Manchester United after the latest round of bidding came to a close.

On Friday night, it was confirmed that both Ratclifee and Qatari Shiekh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani submitted their third bids ahead of the 10pm deadline.

According to Mail Sport, British businessman and INEOS boss Ratcliffe has made an offer that values United at more than £5 billion.

It is believed that as a result, he has stolen the march on his Qatari rival in the race to buy the Old Trafford club.

Mail Sport reported that Ratcliffe is looking to either buy 69 per cent of the club or slightly more than 50 per cent if the Glazer brothers Joel and Avram wanted to stay put.