By Adam Williams, Finance & Governance Correspondent

15th May, 2023 | 4:50pm

Revealed: Man United agree July deal with US-based takeover bidder

A pre-season event Man United have agreed to appear at is organised by would-be minority investors Sixth Street Partners, Football Insider can reveal.

United have confirmed that they will play Real Madrid in Houston on 26 July as part of the Soccer Champions Tour.

The series of friendlies – which also features Arsenal, Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan – is financed by private equity firm Sixth Street.

The California-based company also happens to be one of four investment groups to have submitted proposals to acquire a minority stake in United.

Sixth Street has a strategic partnership with Real Madrid, a financing arrangement with Barcelona, and bought the franchise rights for a new National Women’s Soccer League club earlier this year.

Those investments are emblematic of private equity’s growing interest in football, an industry of which it had historically steered clear due to the volatile nature of its business model.

But there has been a swathe of headline-grabbing investments in the sector in recent months and years at all levels of the game’s ecosystem.

Sixth Street’s bid for a minority stake in United, however, appears unlikely to succeed, with the Glazer family prioritising a full sale over a partial one.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos group and a Qatari consortium fronted by the mysterious Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani are the two frontrunners at this late stage.

Both have submitted their final proposals to takeover brokers Raine Group and are waiting to hear who is the Glazers’ preferred bidder.

In other news, door opens for Man United to sign Chelsea star.