Gvardiol Liverpool, Kvaratskhelia Man City

Manchester United are coming off the back of a phenomenal week. Beating Barcelona and winning the League Cup made a statement. It feels like a new era at the club under Erik ten Hag already.

However, the League Cup Final was also notable for anti-Glazers protests, including banners inside Wembley and chants during the game.

There is still no guarantee the Glazers will leave Manchester United. The sale process, handled by New York merchant bank, Raine Group, is designed to explore all options. It’s not only for an outright purchase.

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The ‘s’ in Glazers remains very important because the family currently don’t have a unified stance. What’s clear is Avram and Joel are still attached to the club. Kevin, Edward, Bryan and Darcie are prepared to depart and cash in on their stakes.

A lot of attention has been drawn towards the two public outright bidders for Manchester United, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, but there are private investors looking at minority stakes.

As exclusively reported on Monday, Sheikh Jassim sees his bid as “all or nothing” as one source close to his group put it. He won’t revert to minority investment if unsuccessful or even consider a ‘laddered’ route to full ownership. This would entail starting with a small stake with the option to increase it over time.

Ratcliffe, on the other hand, sees buying Manchester United as shaping his legacy. He wants visible and operational control. As a result, he is more open to partnering with either other groups or the Glazers, even if he doesn’t have majority or full control. He basically doesn’t want to walk away empty handed. His starting position is absolutely full ownership (termed “majority” in his statement solely because the Glazers don’t own 100% of the club), but he’s more flexible than Sheikh Jassim should things not go according to plan.

Both Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe do have some scepticism as to whether the Glazers will agree to an outright sale. Ratcliffe actually met with Joel and Avram last year, before the process started, and came away from those talks believing a sale wasn’t possible.

At this point in the process, as I reported over the weekend, the Glazers are underwhelmed by the volume and value of offers.

No group is particularly close to £5bn with their indicative offer and the Glazers may well…