Irish Examiner view: Extra time at United

The last time United were in play anywhere else other than on the pitch the club ended up saddled with nearly €600m of debt.

No one thought the potential takeover of Manchester United — likely to be the biggest deal in the history of sport — would be an easy transaction and, for now, there is some doubt that there will be a deal at all.

With Wednesday’s deadline for second bids come and gone, and yesterday’s 4pm extension passing the same way, there are only two publicly confirmed bidders for a controlling stake: Ineos owner, Jim Ratcliffe, and the Qatari consortium of Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Than.