BBC reporter Simon Stone has revealed there was “a rumour” that Sheikh Jassim was considering pulling out of a deal to buy Manchester United.

After checking out the claims, though, he said that the reports turned out to be inaccurate, although there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the takeover:

“We all get told things, there can be frustration from one side or the other. There can be a belief that this is going to happen, or that is going to happen. I was told a rumour the other day that Sheikh Jassim was about to pull out. I checked that, and that was just dismissed.”

While the news will come as a relief to United supporters, there is still very little clarity about what might happen next in the takeover process.

Even in the business world, it appears nobody has the inside track about what actually is going on. Respected Bloomberg journalist David Hellier said last month that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid for United was “dead” in the water but Stone believes that the British billionaire “is” still in the race.

Neither bidder appears to have met the valuation that United have set

Even with all of this contradictory information being spread around, though, the fact that the Glazers are stalling on the club’s sale does indicate that their £6bn asking price has not been matched by either Sheikh Jassim or Ratcliffe.

Jassim’s last proposal of $6.5bn (£5bn) is still significantly below what the current owners want. Considering that the Qataris have said it would be their last offer as well, a stalemate has seemingly been reached.

While the bid will probably be left on the table, there is currently no indication that the Glazers will accept it, leaving the club in limbo and with an uncertain future.