Saudi Arabia, Qatar Bids Expected for Manchester United

With Friday’s “soft” deadline for proposals ending at 5 p.m. ET, speculation is rampant over who could take over Manchester United.

Interested parties will only need to detail the amount of their bid and provide proof of funds — whether that’s for an entire takeover or a smaller stake.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly submitted a bid for the Premier League icons, with several private groups from Riyadh making formal inquiries.

Qatari investors are set for an opening bid of $6 billion, according to Bloomberg, which would be a record price tag for a sports team.

UEFA rules stipulate that the Qatari bid would have to be separate from Qatar Sports Investments, which owns Paris Saint-Germain. UEFA has reportedly been asked to block any Qatar-led takeover due to the potential crossover.

The bids from Saudi Arabia and Qatar are expected to be the only proposals not relying on borrowed money to finance the deal.

British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s company INEOS previously announced plans to bid for the club with the help of Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Investors from the U.S. are also reportedly interested.

The Glazer family, which bought the club in 2005 for $942 million, hired the Raine Group in November to explore a full or partial sale. Recent report suggest the family wants to secure a partner investor rather than sell in full.

As of May, the club was the world’s third-most valuable soccer club at $4.6 billion, per Forbes.