12 Mar 2010

International Wire Story

7:58 am on 12 March 2010

The Manchester United chief executive David Gill insists the Glazer family will not be forced out of Old Trafford by fan discontent and a potential takeover bid from the Red Knights.

United fans have shown their opposition to the Glazers' reign, and the massive debts the American family have loaded onto the club, by wearing green and gold scarves at matches this season.

The campaign has led to a group of wealthy United supporters joining together with a view to mounting a bid to buy-out the Glazers and it has emerged today that the consortium has appointed leading global investment bank Nomura as advisers.

However, sources close to the Glazer family are adamant the Premier League club is not for sale despite debts in excess of 1.5 billion dollars and Gill has backed up that message as he announced a new five-year sponsorship deal with telecommunications firm Telekom Malaysia.

The sponsorship agreement with Telekom Malaysia is part of a new commercial strategy implemented by the Glazer family.

Instead of taking a global approach, United have adopted a territorial stance, doing exclusive deals in specific areas to maximise income and make the most of an estimated 333 million supporters worldwide.