The Telegraph reported that Saudi Arabia has officially submitted a bid to purchase Manchester United PLC, a Premier League football team, ahead of the Friday bidding deadline.
The report also stated that a number of private groups in Riyadh have officially inquired about the club, which has one of the richest legacies in English football. This could lead to a bidding war for the club.
According to sources who spoke with Reuters, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and US private equity firms are likely bidders. Ratcliffe is a lifelong supporter of the club and the founder of the chemicals company INEOS.
Another Bloomberg News report says that Qatari Royals are preparing an opening bid of about 5 billion pounds.
According to a Bloomberg report, a consortium that includes the country's former prime minister and former head of the Qatar Investment Authority, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, is finishing up a proposal to buy the club.
The sources added that a deal for the English Premier League champions, who have won the competition a record 13 times, will probably be bigger than the biggest sports deal ever, which was $5.2 billion, which included debt and investments.
According to a Deloitte analysis, Manchester United, which is listed in the United States and has a market capitalization of more than $4 billion, is the fourth richest football club in the world.