Qatar's Sheikh Jassim set to submit third bid for Manchester United - The Guardian

Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the son of Qatar's former prime minister, is set to lodge an improved third bid of less than 5 billion pounds ($6.28 billion) for English soccer club Manchester United by Friday's deadline, The Guardian reported.

The Qatari banker is intent on buying 100% of the club and his bid falls short of the 6 billion pounds asking price set by current owners, the Glazer family, the report added.

The club declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters. A small portion of the club's shares is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's market value was about $3.4 billion, as of Thursday's close.

In March, Reuters reported that Sheikh Jassim had submitted a second bid to buy the club. The founder of chemicals producer INEOS, Jim Ratcliffe, also put in a bid for the club in February. Any sale of the club would likely exceed the biggest sports deal so far - the $5.2 billion including debt and investments paid for Chelsea - sources had told Reuters previously.