The Raine Group, the merchant bank managing the sale of Manchester United, have set a deadline of Friday 17th February for bids to be made for the club, according to The Times.

A fund linked to the royal family of Qatar are believed to be considering an offer for the Red Devils, along with other investors from the Middle East, the US, Singapore and China.

United owners, the Glazers, are hoping for a quick sale, but the deadline set does leave potential bidders very little time to prepare their offers.

It is believed the asking price for the club is between £6 billion and £8 billion, which would pretty much double the figure that Chelsea was sold for last year.

Very few bidders, with the exception of Nice owner Jim Ratcliffe, have publicly come forward to register their interest in buying United but once the deadline has passed, more details are likely to come out about who the frontrunners are.

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