Pulling out of £10m deal to buy United was biggest mistake of my life. Now the club’s worth £10bn
MICHAEL KNIGHTON EXCLUSIVE
winning the FA Cup bought the Scot the time he needed to become the club’s greatest manager ever.
He believes the Glazer family will be forced into selling if they fail to bring back the glory days inside the next two years.
Knighton said: “My contacts tell me there’s a bid for the club from Saudi Arabia on the table worth £4billion.
“The Glazer family say the club isn’t for sale, but, if they fail to put a team on the pitch capable of challenging for the Premier League and qualifying for the Champions League inside the next two years, they might have to think again.
“So far, United’s commercial operation has been insulated from the lack of trophies since Sir Alex retired by the success that he built up over
26 years.
“But the Glazers won’t get away with another three or four seasons of underachievement because blue-chip companies don’t want to be associated with a team that has become synonymous with losing.
“Something is wrong with United at an executive level. A club should not be run by an accountant, which is what [executive vice-chairman] Ed Woodward is.
“I keep hearing Mr Woodward has done some brilliant commercial deals.
“No, he hasn’t. He’s in charge of
Manchester United. A monkey could have done those deals.”
It will be ironic if Arabian money does come flooding into Old Trafford – and not just because an Abu Dhabi sheikh has transformed bitter rivals Manchester City.
Thirty years ago, Knighton’s bid to buy United sparked an angry reaction from a boardroom including the late Amer Al Midani, playboy son of a Lebanese billionaire who also had designs on a takeover.
Knighton recalled: “When Martin announced his intention to sell the club to me, Midani was one of a group of directors furious they hadn’t had first refusal. “Martin turned to me and said, ‘I could never sell Manchester United to an Arab.’
“His words alarmed me at the time – and when City started to overtake United, I did think it was the sweetest of ironies.”