BREAKING: Sir Jim Ratcliffe facing competition for Manchester United stake, it's not over

A Sky Sports journalist explained the latest on Sir Jim Ratcliffe's attempts to buy a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United.

United will hold a board meeting on Thursday, which could have implications on the club's future ownership.

With Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim having pulled of the race to buy United last week, the way is now clear for Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos Group to secure a 25 per cent stake in the club.

Though it is not yet clear where the 25 per cent is coming from and how Ratcliffe will be represented given his £1.3billion investment, the move would be the most significant change in the club's ownership structure since the Glazers took control in 2005.

However, the matter may not be voted on this week.

Sky Sports' Kaveh Solhekol said that it is unlikely Ratcliffe's 25 per cent investment will be announced upon the close of United's board meeting.

Moreover, Solhekol claimed that while Ratcliffe was the favourite to buy a stake in United, other parties are still interested in investing in the Old Trafford club.

The journalist told the outlet: "I would be surprised if there's any announcement [on Thursday] about Jim Ratcliffe buying a 25 per cent of Manchester United.

"Having said that what we do know is that this strategic review started in November last year and has been going on since then.

"We know that Sheikh Jassim of Qatar wanted to buy 100 per cent of Manchester United.

"Over the weekend he dropped out. He's withdrawn his offer and that means that Jim Ratcliffe is now the favourite to buy a stake in Manchester United.

"I think there's other people who want to buy Manchester United stakes as well, but he is the one that I think the Glazer family are ready to do a deal with.

"It's just that I don't expect the deal to be announced on Thursday."

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Topics: Football, Manchester United, Premier League, Sky Sports

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.