Manchester United bid chaos leads to growing fears Glazers may not sell

Concerns are growing among some parties involved in the Manchester United sale that the Glazers could be trying to play them - and that instead of selling the club they are trying to push up the price to create leverage for a loan.

Eyebrows also continue to be raised over claims that up to eight bidders are interested in the club given that only two, the Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim’s Qatari consortium, have gone public.

The latest fears come after the deadline for the second round of bids for the club was dramatically extended on Wednesday.

On Thursday lunchtime all parties involved were still waiting to hear when the new deadline might be for the second round of bidding, with some suggesting that a “fluid” approach could yet be introduced by Raine, the US bank in charge of the sale.

The suspicion remains that Raine is trying to ramp up a bidding process that is not as competitive as some are making out, in order to push the price for United towards the upper end of the Glazers’ £5-6bn valuation – significantly higher than the Qataris or Ratcliffe want to pay – or to allow them to create leverage for another loan.

Another option for the Glazers would be to retain the club but sell a minority stake to a US hedge fund, although why anyone would want to hand over so much cash but not run a club themselves is unclear.

The latest plot twists comes as United’s share price has risen by over 15% in thepast five days to $25.42 on Thursday lunchtime.

As things stand, United’s net debts stand at £514.9m, which means that just £35.1m has come off the £550m loaded onto the club as a result of the Glazers’ takeover in 2005. However both Ineos and Sheikh Jassim’s Qatari consortium have promised to return the club to its