The global battle to win Manchester United as D-Day for takeover bids approaches

Today is D-Day in the battle for Manchester United.

Sealed bids from some of the planet’s richest people are due to land by 10pm — 5pm in New York, home of merchant bankers Raine, who will sift through the offers in the coming days.

Qatar appear to be the huge favourites in a bidding war that could reach £6billion, but all the serious contenders will be invited to talks to seal the most lucrative deal in the history of sport.

Here, MIKE KEEGAN looks at who could be in the running… 

The possible bidders

QATAR 

We revealed last week that a group of private individuals from Qatar want United – and insiders remain confident that theirs will be the strongest bid.

Money won’t be an issue. While they may want to put distance between themselves and other Qatari entities, it is worth nothing that QIA – the nation’s sovereign wealth fund – is worth a mind-blowing £368bn.

Those involved are ready to arm Erik ten Hag with a vast transfer budget and given the Qataris are also fresh from hosting a World Cup with seven new stadiums, they possess the knowledge and wealth to either rebuild or revamp Old Trafford.

SAUDI ARABIA 

 Could Qatar’s neighbours and sworn rivals make a bid? It is an intriguing prospect. Groups from Saudi signed confidentiality agreements to enter the ‘data room’, which allowed them to take a look at United’s financials.

A bidding war between Saudi and Qatar would be the stuff of dreams for the Glazers. However, those close to the process think it is unlikely.

The Saudis are fresh from a £300m takeover of Newcastle United which is going very well. Muddying the water – even if they could present this as a separate group – is not expected.

UK 

Flying the flag for the UK is Sir Jim Ratcliffe the first bidder to officially announce their intentions. Ratcliffe claims to be a boyhood United fan and is the owner of petrochemicals giant Ineos.

He also has many sporting interests already, having bought cycling giants Team Sky – now rebranded Team Ineos – and holding a significant stake in Mercedes F1.

However, while he is Britain’s richest man, he is not in the same ballpark as some of his expected rivals. Ratcliffe is thought to be worth around £21bn. He has enlisted a number of banks, including Goldman Sachs, to help fund his bid.

US 

A number of groups from the US have expressed an interest although their identity is being kept under wraps. ■ Elon Musk, the tech billionaire Twitter and Tesla owner – and United fan – is known to be monitoring the situation. He is valued at £157bn and may even be asked to front another group of investors.

The pool of those Stateside who could fund a deal of this size is not large. Amazon owner Jeff Bezos is behind Musk in the rich list, with his fortune valued at £100bn.

CHINA AND REST OF THE WORLD 

There is interest from China and Singapore and – given United’s global appeal – it would be foolish to write off bids from elsewhere.

United have previously targeted the huge Chinese market and even opened a ‘Theatre of Dreams’ entertainment facility close to Tiananmen Square.

Chinese owners elsewhere have experienced issues getting money out of the country but United would be a different prospect.