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The Manchester United takeover continues to rumble on Thursday as the three men bidding to buy the club jostle for the position.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are still understood to be the two most likely bidders to buy United. Both parties have visited Old Trafford this month and both have submitted proposals to the club.

Thomas Zilliacus is a newcomer to the United buyout race, having announced last week his intention to make a one-off offer that would allow fans to own half the club. On Wednesday, the Finnish businessman set out his position on Erik ten Hag’s future should his offer be accepted.

ALSO READ: Zilliacus’s comments show United fans right to be cautious

Zilliacus endorses Ten Hag

Manchester United takeover bidder Thomas Zilliacus has backed Erik ten Hag’s decision to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to leave the Reds in November.

Ronaldo made headlines around the world last year when he decided to participate in an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV. What followed was a two-part conversation in which the Portuguese great criticized Ten Hag, the Glazers, the club and former teammates Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney for their apparent lack of support.

Shortly after the interview aired, Ronaldo and United reached an agreement on his release, meaning the star was Qatar’s only World Cup free agent. After the tournament, the 38-year-old signed for Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia.

Read more from Finn on Ten Hag here.

Jassim pushing all the way

According to Give Me Sport journalist Dean Jones, Jassim’s Qatari bid is pushing to the bitter end to try and clinch a deal with United. He explained: “I keep hearing some people downplay your credentials as an owner, but it’s all going to come down to money and it’s going to come down to what promise you can make in terms of investing in this team.

“That’s why we can’t take it off the table. So, it’s interesting.

“I just think he’s going to push this with everything he’s got and he’s also got a really good PR angle on this as there are certain media outlets that seem to know every step of his journey.”

Ratcliffe may be forced to sell his stake in Nice

According to ESPN, Ratcliffe may be forced to sell his stake in Nice to avoid breaching UEFA’s multi-club policy. It is claimed that he would have to sell his stake in the French club to avoid the possibility of one of his teams being locked out of the Champions League if he wins the race to buy out the Glazer family.

If Ratcliffe’s takeover of United is completed, his company, INEOS, would own three clubs, as it also controls Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin recently suggested that he was willing to review the regulations surrounding the ownership of various clubs.

However, as it stands, Ratcliffe would be in breach of existing rules if both United and Nice qualified for the same UEFA competition under his ownership.

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