What former Manchester United players have said on takeover - and who Gary Neville has backed to win race

The potential takeover of Manchester United reached its latest chapter on Thursday evening after a second bid from Sir Jim Ratcliffe was submitted.

A spokesperson for Ratcliffe's INEOS group confirmed to MEN Sport confirmed as such, with the petrochemicals billionaire and boyhood United fan joining several other unnamed second-stage bidders. He and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani have long been thought of as the two serious contenders, although neither managed to meet the original Wednesday 9pm deadline and both were forced to ask for an extension.

That extra time was granted by the Raine Group, the merchant bank overseeing the sale on behalf of the Glazers, allowing both frontrunners to finalise their revised offers. Sheikh Jassim's proposal is expected to follow in the coming days, but confirmation of Ratcliffe's offer - he plans to take the 69% shareholding owned currently by the Glazers - reportedly values United at around £5billion.

ALSO READ: Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS submit improved bid for United

Developments regarding the takeover are set to dominate the news cycle for the foreseeable, with opinions split on who would be the best fit and what they will need to bring to the club. Several former Reds players have already had their say in the prospective takeover, which you can see below.

Teddy Sheringham (March 2023)

"People don't like the Glazers being involved, I’d say that's an understatement. Just tell us when it's all happening. It’s on and off, is it happening? What bids? It doesn't really concern anybody, just tell us who's taking over and when. It's all too much of a fiasco with the on and off stuff.

"No [it wouldn’t affect players]. It wouldn't even come into anyone's ideas to talk about who's