Manchester United staff were banned from taking annual leave before Sir Jim Ratcliffe takeover news broke

The Glazers confirmed back in November they were open to selling United, having promised a 'strategic review'.

Yet, on Saturday night, Sheikh Jassim confirmed he had withdrawn his offer - enabling Ratcliffe to buy a 25 per cent stake as a result.

According to The Sun, United staff have been rocked by the dramatic developments.

It's claimed they had been told not to book any annual leave this month to help see a takeover from Qatar go through.

Meetings were apparently held last week to try and 'rescue' the bid from Sheikh Jassim.

A number of the six strong Glazer family are described as being 'happy to sell' to the Qatari billionaire.

However, Joel Glazer then intervened with the American long being reluctant to leave United behind.

The report says Glazer, who was in control of the process, wanted to either keep a majority shareholding or accept an increased bid of £6billion.

And with Sheikh Jassim refusing to up his offer, United have now obliged Ratcliffe instead.

They will vote on Thursday as to whether to accept the 70-year-old's offer of minority investment.

United are bracing themselves for a backlash, with many supporters long calling on the Glazers to sell up and finally leave after 18 turbulent years at the helm.

The fallen giants were initially successful after the Glazers purchased the club all the way back in 2005.

United won five Premier League titles, as well as the Champions League, in the years that followed.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, however, the silverware has dried up.

United have won just four trophies since the Scot walked off into the sunset.

And they've also splurged millions on duds such as Paul Pogba, Jadon Sancho, Harry Maguire and Romelu Lukaku as well.

It'll be intriguing to see what Sheikh Jassim and the Qatar camp now decide to do.

There has been talk over the past year of the mysterious figure attempting to buy Tottenham or West Ham if his pursuit of United failed.

Right now, though, it's unclear what his plans are.

Meanwhile, back in February, INEOS outlined their plans for United.

"We can confirm that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have submitted a bid for majority ownership of Manchester United Football Club," a statement read.

"We would see our role as the long-term custodians of Manchester United on behalf of the fans and the wider community.

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"We are ambitious and highly competitive and would want to invest in Manchester United to make them the number one club in the world once again.

"We also recognise that football governance in this country is at a crossroads.

"We would want to help lead this next chapter, deepening the culture of English football by making the club a beacon for a modern, progressive, fan-centred approach to ownership.

"We want a Manchester United anchored on its proud history and roots in the North-West of England, putting the Manchester back into Manchester United and clearly focusing on winning the Champions League."