As many as eight groups are in talks with Manchester United about the future ownership of the club, Telegraph Sport understands.
Representatives for Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are among those holding meeetings in Manchester as the Glazers keep leading contenders guessing.
Some of the eight are interested in a full takeover while others are contemplating financing options. Brokers are midway through a busy schedule of meetings, and met with US hedge fund Elliott Management last week. Elliott Management are understood, however, not to be interested in a full takeover.
As reported by Telegraph Sport, executives at United have been explaining to bidders about the "opportunities and challenges" of running the club. One source close to talks says United's director of football, John Murtough, is among the delegation addressing interested parties.
Representatives for Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe are attending Old Trafford this week as two of four meetings scheduled by Friday. There will also be at least one further meeting with another interested party next week before United's controversial owners decide who should advance to a third stage of talks.
Insiders maintain that the process remains on track and a deal is within reach by the end of next month, despite fears elsewhere that the deadline could be extended.
Only the Qatari and Ineos bids have publicly disclosed their preference for a total buyout of the six Glazer siblings' controlling Class B shares. Sources with knowledge of the process say there are two other parties interested in buying the club in its entirety.
Other groups – like Elliott – are instead prepared to help finance a takeover by an interested party. Elliott previously owned AC Milan before selling the club to American investment group RedBird Capital last year. US hedge funds Ares, MSD Partners and Oaktree Capital are also said to be willing to provide financing.
The Americans want at least £5 billion to sell but it is thought the offers from Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe fall short of that valuation.
Uefa considers relaxing dual ownership rules
Another hurdle for those two interested parties may be cleared, however, with Uefa considering allowing clubs with the same owner to play in the Champions League simultaneously. Aleksander Ceferin, Uefa's president, said in an interview this week with Gary Neville’s The Overlap YouTube channel that a rethink of the existing rules was needed.
Ratcliffe’s Ineos group also owns Nice, while there have been concerns raised about links between Sheikh Jassim, the chairman of one of Qatar’s biggest banks, and Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain.
But Ceferin said: “We are not thinking about Manchester United only. We’ve had five or six owners of clubs who want to buy another club. We have to see what to do. The options are that it stays like that or that we allow them to play in the same competition. I’m not sure yet.
“We have to speak about these regulations and see what to do about it. There is more and more interest in this multi-club ownership. We shouldn’t just say no for the investments for multi-club ownership, but we have to see what kind of rules we set in that case, because the rules have to be strict.”
At United, meetings are taking place between interested parties and Raine, the merchant bank running the process, and the Glazers’ financial advisors Rothschild in Manchester.
Insiders have told Telegraph Sport that the Glazers, whose ownership of United has been opposed by fans groups since their 2005 takeover, remain “determined sellers” at the right price.
Bidders are being given access to more detailed financial information and the chance to more closely examine Old Trafford and the club’s Carrington training base, both of which require substantial investment. “They’re going to have a chance to look under the bonnet,” one source said.
