An official announcement of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's 25 per cent investment into Man United could still be made this week, but the saga now risks dragging into the New Year.
The Ineos billionaire is set to pay £1.25 billion to secure a quarter of the Premier League giants.
Ratcliffe will purchase 25 per cent of the A-shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange as well as 25 per cent of the Glazers' B-shares which have greater voting rights.
He is expected to then pump an additional £245m into the club to upgrade Old Trafford and Carrington.