Man Utd takeover moves huge step closer with Glazers finally ready to sell after confirming their preferred bidder

THE GLAZERS are finally ready to sell Manchester United — with Sir Jim Ratcliffe the preferred bidder.

Ratcliffe and his Ineos petro-chemicals giant have been engaged in a drawn-out bidding war with Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani for ownership of British football’s biggest club.

ReutersSir Jim Ratcliffe is the Glazers’ preferred bidder[/caption]

A huge complication over the five month process which has seen THREE rounds of bidding was the growing desire by co-chairman Joel and Avram Glazer to remain at the club.

With the Glazers’ chosen deal-makers, the US-based Raine Group, expected to confirm the “winning” bid within days, SunSport understands that Ratcliffe is the preferred partner.

And that would mean an imminent exodus of the rest of the Old Trafford top brass including chief executive Richard Arnold – but not the two Glazer siblings.

Old Trafford insiders have indicated the Glazers would prefer to sell majority control to Ratcliffe’s Ineos Sport rather than flogging the whole club to Sheikh Jassim.

While Sheikh Jassim’s £5bn bid for full control was the highest sum offered, Sir Jim and Ineos’ deal for 50 per cent valued the full club at a price point closer to the Glazers’ demanded £6bn.

And the Ineos offer will allow the two Glazers to retain their stakes while letting the four other siblings cash-out their shares.

A number of American financial institutions have also bid to buy minority stakes in the club that could allow the Glazers to retain control AND finance improvements to the Old Trafford stadium and Carrington training ground.

But it now seems a Ratcliffe-led partial takeover is the preferred option.

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AFPThe Glazers favour a partial sale that can see them remain at the club[/caption]

Fan groups like the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust favour an immediate full sale in order to cut all ties with the American family, with frustration among some that the Ineos bid would allow Joel and Avram to remain.

Sky News reported that Ratcliffe’s latest bid includes clauses that would see him complete a 100 per cent buyout of United as soon as three years after taking control.

As things stand, however, the first casualties of any Old Trafford revolution might well be chief executive Arnold and other senior management figures.

Wholesale changes at the top are common when football clubs change hands – but can cause big issues.

When Chelsea was sold last year, they soon lost the expertise of executive director Marina Granovskaia, chairman Bruce Buck, and technical and performance adviser Petr Cech.

Consortium frontman Todd Boehly made himself interim sporting director but £600m of spending on players later, the Blues are languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Arnold succeeded Ed Woodward as United supremo last season.

Along with interim manager Ralf Rangnick, Arnold drove the appointment of Erik ten Hag ahead of rival candidates such as Mauricio Pochettino.

Despite United’s improvement on the pitch under Ten Hag, Arnold and some of his senior colleagues are set to find themselves out the door if and when new owners arrive.

GettyErik ten Hag has overseen an improvement at Old Trafford[/caption]