Man Utd bidder brands sale 'the most farcical takeover in history'

Manchester United bidder Thomas Zilliacus has branded the protracted sale of the club 'farcical' in a fresh attack on the Glazer family.

Back in March, Zilliacus entered the race to buy United from the Glazers and pledged to introduce a form of fan ownership at Old Trafford if his bid was successful.

His plan was to buy United through his investment firm, XXI Century Capital, and then issue low-priced shares to supporters - allowing them a say in the running of the club.

He was the third person to declare their intention to buy the Premier League club outright after British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Zilliacus later withdrew from the process in April after refusing to take part in a third round of bidding.

After those bids were rejected by the Glazers, Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim went on to make fourth offers for the club - with the Qatari banker later returning with an 11th hour fifth and final bid for United.

Those offers are now being considered by Raine, the banking group handling the sale on behalf of the Glazers.

Zilliacus slams the Glazers over protracted sale

It is now seven months since the Premier League club was first put up for sale and it is expected that a takeover will not be completed before the start of next season, which gets underway on August 12.

The delay of the sale has raised concerns over its potential impact on United's summer transfer business.

Zilliacus has now taken to Twitter to criticise the handling of the sale, branding it 'farcical'.

"How many more months shall we read about United takeover news? This is already the most farcical club takeover in history. Never seen anyone so unable to make a decision," tweeted Zilliacus.

Speculation is growing that Sheikh Jassim has been successful with his final offer, which is understood to be worth around $6.5bn (£5.2bn) – with an additional $1bn (around £800m) of investment in the club also pledged.

However, the BBC claim that exclusivity had not yet been granted by Raine and that talks are continuing with all interested parties.