Jim Ratcliffe is restructuring his offer to buy Manchester United Plc, people with knowledge of the matter said, in an attempt to break the deadlock in the long-running takeover saga.

The British billionaire is working with his advisers to address concerns about the terms of his bid from minority investors in the English Premier League football club, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Ratcliffe put forward a proposal earlier this year to acquire 69% of shares in Manchester United owned by the US Glazer family. That left little benefit for holders of the club’s remaining stock, including Lindsell Train, Ariel Investments LLC and Eminence Capital.

Bloomberg reported previously that a top-three shareholder in Manchester United sent a letter to the club’s board warning that independent directors could be at risk of being sued for recommending any bid that favors one set of shareholders over another.

Representative for Ratcliffe and Manchester United declined to comment.

Ratcliffe, the chairman of chemicals giant Ineos, is competing against a group of Qatari investors led by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani to buy Manchester United in what would be one of the biggest ever deals involving a sports team. Both proposals are still being considered by the club, as well as a potential minority stake sale, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

It’s been almost a year since the Glazers publicly said they would conduct a strategic review into their ownership of the club. The bidding process has moved at a slow pace given the interests of the various stakeholders involved and, so far, neither the Qataris nor Ratcliffe have been able to meet the Glazers’ price expectations.

While the Qatari group wants to buy the club outright, Ratcliffe’s previous offer could allow certain members of the Glazer family, including Joel and Avram Glazer, to remain invested in Manchester United. That would likely infuriate some supporters of Manchester United, who have blamed its US owners for presiding over years of under-performance on the pitch and want them out of the club.

“We have a good offer,” Ratcliffe, a lifelong Manchester United fan, said at a media event in July. “We still would very much like to do it, and I think we would do a good job if we did.”

The bidding for Manchester United has produced a stream of reports ranging from front-runners to the Glazers taking the club off the market, causing the stock of the UK club — listed in New York — to fluctuate wildly.

Ratcliffe has lined up financing from banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., while JPMorgan Chase & Co., Rothschild & Co. and Bank of America Corp. are among others advising or offering capital on a deal.

The British businessman already owns French football club OGC Nice. He was pictured celebrating in the team’s dressing room last weekend after a victory over local rivals AS Monaco lifted Nice to second place in the Ligue 1 division.