Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has withdrawn from the process to buy Manchester United, BBC Sport has been told.

The Glazer family, who bought United for £790m in 2005, announced in November 2022 they were considering selling.

British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group was the other main bidder but only wanted a controlling stake.

Figures in March showed United owed £969.6m through a combination of gross debt, bank borrowings and outstanding transfer fees with associated payments.

This month BBC Sport reported Ratcliffe was considering whether to offer to buy a minority stake in the club in an effort to break the impasse over the ownership situation.

The Glazer family’s announcement last year that they were considering selling United led to a flurry of interest but only two offers, from Ineos and Sheikh Jassim.

Both tabled bids of about £5bn.

Sheikh Jassim’s camp have always…