Glazers asked PSG president for help persuading fellow Qatari Sheikh Jassim to increase Man Utd bid

The Glazers are understood to have asked Paris Saint-Germain’s president for help persuading his fellow Qatari, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, to increase his Manchester United bid.

Insiders close to talks told Telegraph Sport that Nasser Al-Khelaifi declined to get involved after United’s owners suggested last month he might be able to help as a middle man.

Sheikh Jassim, who has since tabled a fifth buyout offer for Manchester United, had separately sought Al-Khelaifi’s private opinion on the proposed takeover.

However, multiple sources maintain the PSG owner has no official or unofficial role in the process and offered no input on how much the Qatari group should pay.

To ward off suggestions that a Qatari takeover could breach multi-club ownership rules in the Champions League, the Sheikh Jassim camp has consistently underlined its offer is from private funding unrelated to Qatar Sports Investments, which owns PSG.

It is seven months since the Glazers invited interest and patience is wearing thin for many of the parties involved, with current bids still not matching the family’s initial valuation.  Sheikh Jassim’s latest last gasp approach to secure a 100 per cent buyout states that he will no longer engage with the process from Friday, although his offer remains on the table.

With Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s rival majority offer being seriously considered, there are also said to be some rumblings of discontent among other United current shareholders. The Ineos approach effectively only includes a deal with the family and not the minority investors. As a result, one hedge fund with a large stake in the club is making legal preparations in case Ratcliffe launches an offer that involves only buying the Glazers’ super-voting Class B shares, the Reuters news agency reports.

Hedge funds were said to be studying past precedents under Cayman Islands law, where Manchester United is incorporated, to figure out how they might build a case against any manoeuvres by the Glazers or Ratcliffe.

Meanwhile, with the transfer window opening on June 14, United manager Erik ten Hag is desperate for clarity over his budget and the ownership situation ahead of a critical summer for the club.

As of last week, the Glazers were still undecided on various contenders, although talks with Ratcliffe have been increasingly encouraging. He flew out to New York last month and is willing to buy up around half of the club’s influential B-shares at an appealing rate. However, there has been no guarantee yet from the American family’s inner circle that they are ready to declare the Ineos owner a preferred bidder.