The reason why Man United's share price spiked on New York's Stock Exchange

The reason behind the major spike in Manchester United shares on New York's Stock Exchange has been revealed.

United's share price - which was around $12 back in November when the Glazer family announced it was to be put up for sale - is always closely monitored and a sudden spike to $25.01 caught the eye.

The spike occurred after a report from Qatari newspaper Al-Watan claimed that Sheikh Jassim has prevailed in his bidding war with Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

But the Athletic are claiming that sources close to the Qatari off were taken aback by the suggestion shares soared because a deal was close.

In fact, their report goes on to detail that news of the Qatari bid sealing the deal appears to have originated from a Twitter account, said to be located in Wales, that predominantly advertieses illegal streaming of football matches.

2sporttv, an account with less than 300 followers, soon saw the post, exclaiming the Qatari offer was a done deal, gain traction. It would later be promoted by Al-Watan and its editor.

BBC's Economics Editor Faisal Islam added further context around the share price intrigue, revealing that Jassim's offer is to purchase 100 per cent of the shares from the Glazers, and he is ready to pay out on the New York Stock Exchange's listed share price when completing a deal.

Islam added that the significant share surge was down to around a quarter of a million trades on United shares across two and a half hours.

Al-Watan posted on Twitter on Monday night that Sheikh Jassim's takeover bid has been a 'success' and that an 'announcement of the deal [will be] soon'.

Sheikh Jassim's bid – understood to be worth around £5billion – is for total control of United, while Ratcliffe's Ineos is for around 60 per cent of the club.

There has been a growing frustration at how long the sale is taking, especially given the imminent opening of the transfer window. The process originally started in November of last year.

It is understood that the need to strengthen Erik ten Hag's squad has played a major role in the Sheikh's latest and final move.

He is keen to complete the takeover and arm the Dutch manager with significant funds ahead of the new season.

Takeover talk has dragged on at United ever since the Glazers announced they were open to selling the club back in November.

If Al-Watan's claim indeed holds up, Ratcliffe will have come up short in his effort to purchase United, the club he has supported all his life.

United's takeover saga is now reaching its conclusion after what has been a long-winded seven months of speculation.

The Glazers first announced they were open to a sale all the way back in November, on the same night they confirmed Cristiano Ronaldo had left via mutual consent.