Man Utd takeover: Sir Jim Ratcliffe makes bold claim amid £5bn bidding battle

Failure is not an option in the battle of the Manchester United takeover, that's the view of INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Last week The Mail on Sunday claimed the Glazers had decided they were no longer planning to sell the club as no buyer had come close to their £6bn valuation. It was also reported the owners would hold out for a bid of between £7bn and £10bn in two years' time.

However, as per the Daily Mail, that is not the case. The outlet claim that ‘nothing had changed’ and a decision has yet to be made by the Glazers. Offers from Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcilffe have been received, while there is still the possibility of minority investment from various US financial groups.

In an interview on INEOS.TV, Sir Jim Ratcliffe said: "The Manchester United bid would have been unthinkable two or three years ago if we hadn't had some of the experiences - some quite difficult experiences with Lausanne and Nice.

"You can't really contemplate acquiring a brand like Manchester United and failing because the failure is just far too public and excruciating in a deal like that."

Nearly 10 months on from the Glazers announcing they were seeking ‘strategic alternatives’ which could include a sale, and the process has stalled.

The uncertainty has led to frustrations from the United fans, who protested ahead of the opening match of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers and staged an hour-long sit-in after the recent home win over Nottingham Forest. Fans also organised a protest outside the club’s megastore on transfer deadline day.