Fan power at Old Trafford looks a definite non-starter

MANCHESTER UNITED’S legion of supporters have been warned not to get too excited about the possibility of gaining control of the club — but some influential shareholders have previously indicated a willingness to pursue such a venture.

A weekend report suggested investment bank Goldman Sachs had been ommissioned to produce a document on the viability of the club’s entire shareholding being purchased through a Trust, whose directors would be independent and elected partly by fans.

It was reported that Dermot Desmond, who holds a controlling interest in Scottish champions Celtic, was involved in the discussions, as were JP McManus and John Magnier, wealthy Irish racehorse owners and close friends with United boss Alex Ferguson, who between them own £8.6% of the club.

It is the kind of idea which has been floated round for a while without any realistic likelihood of it ever taking place because of the risks involved.

In effect, money which United stand to accrue in the future, such as the £303million from the 13-year shirt manufacturing deal with Nike, plus television income and Champions League prize money, would be used as a guarantee of borrowings amounting to almost £1billion, which would in turn allow all the shares to be bought on the open market.

Such a financing scheme, the like of which has been used by other Premiership clubs to help fund squad strengthening, carries substantial risk if the club’s on-field performance fails to match expectation and income streams slump as a result.

United officials were remaining tight-lipped yesterday but indications around Old Trafford are that the deal is a non-starter.

Shareholders United spokesman Oliver Houston, whose organisation campaigns for ordinary fans to be given a greater input into the running of the club, also urged caution.

“We are prepared to talk to anybody about any number of scenarios but in the meantime I don’t think our fans should get very excited about this report,” he said.

“As a group, Shareholders United buys batches of shares in the club every month and slowly we are building up our shareholding on behalf of our many members around the world.”