Formal bids for Manchester United are due to be submitted in the next week or so, the Mail on Sunday understands.
The sale, which is expected to attract initial offers of at least £4billion, has attracted considerable interest from potential buyers in the US, the Middle East and Asia.
But the early front-runner in the race to buy United is British billionaire and boyhood fan Jim Ratcliffe, owner of the Ineos chemicals conglomerate.
US investment bank Raine is running the sale on behalf for the Glazer family, who has owned United since a controversial £790million leveraged takeover in 2005 saddled the club with huge debts and sparked fans’ fury.