Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani have been put through to the next round of bidding to buy Manchester United, talkSPORT understands.
Both British billionaire Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim will enter into a period of due diligence with the Raine Group, who are acting on behalf of the Glazer family.
Neither group’s initial offer met the £6billion asking price for the Old Trafford giants.
The Glazers are also considering proposals to sell a percentage of their shareholding in United.
The Raine Group set a soft deadline for bids for February 17, and both Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim went public with their bids late that evening.
Sheikh Jassim is the chairman of Qatar Investment Bank, and is the son of Hamad Bin-Jaber al-Thani, who served as the country’s foreign minister and prime minister throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
He announced that his bid, believed to be worth £4.5bn, would be ‘completely debt free’ and for a 100 per cent takeover of the club.
Soon after, Ratcliffe released a statement saying that he and his company INEOS see themselves as ‘the long-term custodians’ of Manchester United.
The Manchester-born businessman’s bid is thought to be worth £4bn, with both falling short of the Glazer’s asking price.
Since the bids were lodged, reports have emerged that the Glazer family are split on selling the club, which is now competitive once again under the guidance of manager Erik ten Hag.