Manchester United's stock rose sharply on Thursday, ahead of the deadline for takeover bids and reports of Saudi interest.
The stock closed at $26.84, up almost 10%, on the New York Stock Exchange, with potential buyers expected to submit initial offers Friday to merchant bank Raine Group, which is handling the sale for United's current owners, the Glazer family.
Jim Ratcliffe, the British billionaire owner of petrochemicals giant INEOS, is the only contender to publicly confirm his intention to bid, but there has been increased speculation about wider interest in recent days.
The Telegraph reported Thursday that groups in Saudi Arabia are interested in bidding.
Friday has been described as a soft deadline before the sale process gathers pace.
The Glazers, who also own the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, announced on Nov. 21 their intention to seek outside funding. Since then, United's share price has more than doubled from $13.08 on the day of the announcement.
Saudi interest has long been speculated, and the latest reports come on the heels of an expected bid from another Middle Eastern country, Qatar.
There could also be interest from America after a host of U.S. bidders entered the race to buy Chelsea last year.
The Glazers have repeatedly resisted attempts from United fans to drive them out since buying the club in 2005.
The possibility of a partial investment as well as a full sale has been explored.
It is not known if any potential buyer is prepared to go as high as the widely estimated price of $6 billion, given the extra level of investment required to redevelop Old Trafford stadium.
Raine handled the sale of Chelsea, which was bought by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital for $3 billion, a record for a soccer team.
Marcos Alonso points to the sky in tribute to his late father against Man United
Emotional Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso dedicated his goal against Manchester United to his late father on Thursday night.
Alonso' dad Marcos Alonso Pena, who also played for Barca, tragically passed away aged 63 following a "long illness" last week.
Alonso scored with a towering header at the far post from a corner in the Europa League play-off first leg against Manchester United.
The emotional Spaniard immediately pointed to the sky in dedication to his father during the celebrations.
The match ended 2-2 after Raphinha scored a late equaliser for the home side.
Alonso Pena passing away last week.
Tributers poured in following the news and Barcelona, where he played for five years, offered their 'deepest condolences' before president Joan Laporta called for a minute of silence during a press briefing.
Barcelona tweeted: 'FC Barcelona would like to express its deepest condolences for the passing of former Barça player and father of a first-team player Marcos Alonso Peña.
'All of our strength to Marcos Alonso and his entire family. Rest in peace.'
Alonso Pena started out playing for Racing Santander in the 1970s before heading for the Spanish capital to sign for Atletico.
Latterly, he would go on to represent Barcelona, scoring 28 goals across 124 appearances.
From there he went back to Atletico for a spell, as well as returning to Racing Santander, before he elected to retire in 1991 with 22 international caps for Spain also on his resume.
The winger then made the decision to head into management.
His management era began in 1995 with Rayo Vallecano, before he went on to have spells in charge of Racing Santander, Sevilla, Atlético Madrid, Real Zaragoza, Real Valladolid, Málaga and lastly, Granada 74.
His son, also Marcos Alonso, has followed in his footsteps and is now playing for Barcelona.
He rarely shared photos of his family on social media but did previously pay homage to his dad with some images when he was young having a kick-a-bout in the garden.