Manchester United takeover news LIVE Sheikh Jassim withdraws bid as Sir Jim Ratcliffe 'to acquire 25% stake'

It finally looks like Sir Jim Ratcliffe has beaten Sheikh Jassim in the Manchester United takeover race.

Current owners the Glazers announced last November that they would be seeking strategic alternatives, leading to speculation that a takeover could be on the cards. That, however, still seems unlikely after Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani dramatically withdrew his bid on Saturday night.

It is understood Sheikh Jassim "desperately" attempted to convince the Glazers to sell the club but was informed his offer, believed to be around £5billion, was short of their asking price. Meanwhile reports have suggested Sir Jim Ratcliffe's bid for 25% of the club could be ratified at a board meeting as early as this week.

That all means we could finally be heading towards the final furlong following an 11-month wait from fans on concrete news on the takeover front.

Keep track of the latest United news and updates in our live blog below.

The Athletic reports the INEOS chief has reached an 'agreement in principle' with United's American owners.

Sources have cited United's current valuation of £2.6bn to the Manchester Evening News as being behind Sheikh Jassim's decision to pull out of the bidding.

Sheikh Jassim's final bid for the Reds was almost double the £2.6bn valuation.

The Qatari banker had no intention of buying a minority stake in the club as allowing the Glazers to remain majority stakeholders was not aligned with his vision of new ownership.

Read the full story here.

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani has pulled out of his bid to purchase Man Utd from the Glazer family.

Sheikh Jassim had been hoping to complete a full takeover of the Old Trafford outfit worth more than £5billion, but dramatically pulled