Qatar's Sheikh Jassim set to submit third bid for Manchester United

Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the son of Qatar's former prime minister, is set to lodge an improved third bid of less than 5 billion pounds ($6.28 billion) for English soccer club Manchester United by Friday's deadline, The Guardian reported.

The Qatari banker is intent on buying 100% of the club and his bid falls short of the 6 billion pounds asking price set by current owners, the Glazer family, the report added.

The club declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters.

A small portion of the club's shares is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's market value was about $3.4 billion, as of Thursday's close.

In March, Reuters reported that Sheikh Jassim had submitted a second bid to buy the club. The founder of chemicals producer INEOS, Jim Ratcliffe, also put in a bid for the club in February.

Any sale of the club would likely exceed the biggest sports deal so far - the $5.2 billion including debt and investments paid for Chelsea - sources had told Reuters previously.