English Billionaire Adamant He Can Still Win Manchester United Sale

The sale of Manchester United is currently down to just two parties and despite reports of Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar being expected to win the race, English billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is not willing to admit defeat just yet.

In an exclusive interview with a source, Ratcliffe told them that he has met with the Manchester United owners, the Glazer family, "a couple of times" but is under a non-disclosure agreement, though noted that "there is still a process – and we are in the process."

"We have a good offer and we have met with the Glazers a couple of times. We have had good discussions with them. We would still very much like to do it. And we would be doing it for the right reasons. But in the end, it is their decision, not our decision," Ratcliffe declared as he was quoted.

Earlier this week, Qatari media claimed that close confidants of the former Crown Prince "believe that it is only a matter of time before the official announcement is made" with the purchase contract being signed by the Glazer family "within the next few hours."

To date, there has been no clear indication from sources within the club that ownership of Manchester United is headed toward Sheikh Jassim's way.

Ratcliffe was born in Failsworth, Lancashire (now found in Greater Manchester), though later moved to East Yorkshire during his growing up years – yet his love for his boyhood club remains as steadfast as ever.

"Teams don't come around very often. There are some special teams and the value of them tends to go up. The value of teams like this one is very special and rare—like art," Ratcliffe later stated.

The Ineos Group owner has been the consensus favorite among fans for his deep ties to the club and deep understanding of the culture of soccer.

However, the only gripe that they have with him is that he is only gunning for 50% ownership of Manchester United, which will allow brothers Avram and Joel Glazer to retain 20% of their ownership stakes.

The Glazers have long drawn the ire of Red Devils fans for what they view to be mismanagement of the club, which features accruing a massive debt while also lining their own pockets regardless of how well the team plays.

As to whether he plans to rename Old Trafford with ties to his multinational chemicals company, Ratcliffe claimed that such a change "would be heresy" and that "it's always Old Trafford."