Will Man Utd become football’s latest Gulf-backed project?

A Manchester United logo is pictured outside of Old Trafford stadium, home ground of Manchester United football team, in Manchester, northern England, on November 23, 2022. – Manchester United’s owners said Tuesday they were ready to sell the club after it was earlier confirmed star player Cristiano Ronaldo was leaving the Premier League giants. Weeks of turbulence at Old Trafford appeared to have come to an end when the club announced Ronaldo was leaving with “immediate effect”. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

Prospective new owners of Manchester United have until Friday to reveal their interest in buying one of the world’s biggest clubs, with the British press reporting a bid from Qatar which, if successful, will send shockwaves through European football.

United’s current American owners, the Glazer family, opened the door to fresh investment in the English giants in November, either in the form of a minority stake or a full takeover.

Deeply unpopular with supporters since they saddled the club with huge debts in a £790 million ($961m) leveraged takeover in 2005, the Glazers are ready to cash out their chips at an enormous profit.

According to reports, they are seeking £6 billion for the three-time European champions, which would smash the record fee for a football club set by Chelsea last year.

A consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital paid £2.5 billion for the Blues with a further £1.75 billion promised in further investment in infrastructure and players.

To date only British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, owner of petrochemicals giant Ineos which also controls French club Nice, has come forward publicly as a potential buyer for United.

But reports of a bid backed by Qatar’s emir,