United chiefs seek face-to-face talks with Magnier

MANCHESTER UNITED want face-to-face peace talks to end the dispute between Alex Ferguson and the club’s largest shareholder John Magnier.

United want the issue resolved as soon as possible, but are not prepared to enter into correspondence with the Irish camp via letters. Instead they have offered an open invitation to sit down and speak with Magnier and his partner JP McManus.

It is understood that Ferguson and Magnier have agreed on an intermediary to broker any compromise deal, but United's chief executive David Gill and the rest of the board believe the row over ownership of stud fees for the racehorse Rock of Gibraltar is essentially a matter for the manager.

Sources say that members of the board want a peace settlement thrashed out as soon as possible because of how the row is impacting on the rest of the club.

Magnier questioned Ferguson's new Old Trafford contract signed last week when the Reds boss was at the centre of a heart scare in December. This latest question is understood to be from an old letter sent to the Reds before Christmas but which has only now been leaked to the press.

Ferguson met club chief executive Gill for talks yesterday where he is believed to have outlined his present position.

Reports suggested Ferguson is on the verge of trying to seek a compromise with Magnier over the dispute that has been dragging on 12 months.

The Scot emotionally revealed last week that his son Jason had been forced to call in the police amid allegations that his mail had been stolen and bin-bags being rifled through.

Although Ferguson has never given any indication he was prepared to back down in his legal battle for 50% of the stud rights to 'The Rock', the apparent vulnerability over his family and chief executive David Gill's admission that a speedy resolution to the conflict would be "in the best interests of all concerned" points to an outbreak of peace.

However, there are clear indications that Magnier and McManus will keep up pressure on the board over corporate governance even if the Rock of Gibraltar dispute with Ferguson is settled.

"Cubic's correspondence and dealings with the Manchester United board will be unaffected by the quite separate issue of Rock of Gibraltar," one source suggested yesterday.

He pointed out that McManus, a hugely successful gambler and currency speculator, owned half of the Cubic holding but was not involved in the dispute with Ferguson.

Cubic had not yet received a reply to a letter sent to the United board earlier this month which raised "very significant corporate governance issues", the source added.

The letter, sent on January 16, included a catalogue of questions relating to corporate governance, compliance with regulatory guidelines, the conduct of player transfers and fees paid to transfer agents.

The Ferguson-Magnier case could take up to two years to reach the Irish High Court, during which time more pressure could pile up on the United manager who last week hit out at his "distressing" treatment.

Magnier and McManus have maintained that their stake in United, now worth more than £170m is a "value investment" and that their drive for better corporate governance at the club can only improve that value.

Meanwhile, Ruud van Nistelrooy insists that Ferguson is not being affected by the off-field politics.

"We know what is going but as players we can't let it affect us and I haven't seen any difference in the manager either," he claimed. "He is just the same as always. He doesn't get affected by that kind of thing, that's why he has been in the job for so long. He always manages to stay focussed on the football side."

Officials at Taunton will treat today's race meeting as a "normal raceday" amid reports that protests by football fans against Irish racing tycoons John Magnier and JP McManus could spill on to racecourses.

The Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association has urged fans to attend race meetings where Magnier and McManus have runners "so they can leave them in no doubt about what they think of their attempts to destabilise the club".

McManus will have two runners at Taunton, Nicely Presented in the second division of the Taunton Racecourse Seminar Centre Novices' Hurdle and Hawk's Landing in the Orchard Restaurant Novices' Chase.

But there are no plans to have extra security measures in place at the Somerset venue. John Hills, managing director at Taunton, said: "We are having a normal race-day."