Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's bid to buy Manchester United is 4billion, reports claim.
That is 1bn less than the 5bn Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani is believed to have tabled for the Red Devils.
Ratcliffe has lodged an offer worth 4bn, says Foot Mercato.
That falls short of the 6bn the Glazers are thought to be demanding to sell the club.
However, in contrast to Sheikh Jassim's attempt to take full control, Ratcliffe's bid is for "majority ownership" of the club.
The current owners set a soft deadline of 10pm on Friday for interested parties to submit their offers to buy United.