Jassim bin Hamad makes a third and final bid to acquire Manchester United

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani has made a third and final offer to buy Manchester United, sources told AFP.

Sheikh Jassim is locked in a bidding war with British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, after they emerged as major competitors to buy the Red Devils from the American Glyers family.

Ratcliffe reportedly made another bid before Friday's deadline for the third round of bidding.

While Sheikh Jassim's latest bid reportedly exceeded £5bn ($6.2bn), the size of Ratcliffe's revised bid has yet to be announced.

The third competitor, Finnish businessman Thomas Zeliakos, announced that his second offer to buy the club is the existing one, and will not make a third offer, accusing the club's owners of turning the purchase into a "farce".

However, it seems that none of the offers will reach the £2013 billion threshold set by the Glaser family, whose popularity with fans has increasingly plummeted after the team has missed out on Premier League titles since 2017 and has not won a trophy since <>, before finally breaking their fast by winning the League Cup.