Man Utd takeover latest: Fresh Jim Ratcliffe timeline emerges amid Champions League rule concerns

Manchester United fans continue to wait for a takeover to be made official more than a year after the Glazers announced they would consider outside investment. Back then, there were dreams of a full takeover, but over the course of a long 12 months, it has been made clear that the Glazers do not want to step aside completely.

That saw Sheikh Jassim's bids fall by the wayside, with British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe coming out on top, albeit he has had to settle for a smaller share of the club. A 25% purchase is expected, but it still hasn't been made official, and with that in mind, we have rounded up all the latest news on the takeover front.

Ornstein update

David Ornstein has issued an update over the current situation with United's proposed partial takeover, telling The Athletic: “I assume he wouldn’t be coming in with 25 per cent and sporting control as the end goal.

"That makes me think there will be a roadmap of sorts but, if so, I’m not sure if that will be formal, or not at this stage. The complexity and time it is taking to finalise the initial deal suggest any further steps will take way longer to put in place.

“Perhaps there is a framework of sorts, but I wouldn’t expect to hear anything formal on that for the time being — and remember, United are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, so anything of this nature would need to be notified there first.

“That said, it’s something I’m certain Ratcliffe will be asked about if/when he speaks publicly. Some inside the club were initially expecting there might be an announcement nearly two weeks ago, on the Friday before Sir Bobby Charlton’s funeral, then INEOS, Ratcliffe’s company, targeted early in the following week (after the service). But that didn’t happen and now the United States is in Thanksgiving Day mode, so it won’t come until next week at the earliest.”

Champions League 'ban'

Reports have claimed United could miss out on the Champions League next season as a result of Ratcliffe's arrival. The reason is that Ratcliffe also owns OGC Nice, who are currently second in Ligue 1. As a result, United may not be able to compete in the same European competition as Nice due to - likely - sharing the same owner next season, and UEFA would, as per the rules, take the highest-finishing team as priority, meaning the Red Devils would need to finish higher in the Premier League than Nice to in Ligue 1, or at least in the same position.

UEFA doesn't permit clubs under the same ownership to compete in the same competition, but that's not to say they wouldn't grant permission if they receive evidence that the clubs are run completely separately, as has been the case with Red Bull clubs in the past.