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Glazers turned down £1.5bn bid for United

The Glazers are determined to hold on to the club © Getty Images

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The Glazers have put out an unofficial notice to the Red Knights group that Manchester United are not for sale - even at £1.5 billion - after reports suggested they have rejected multiple bids for the club.

A leading city expert in football finance close to the Red Knights bid process for control of Old Trafford told Soccernet that there was a clear message from the Glazers that they would not be selling.

The source commented: "There were rumours a couple of weeks ago that the Red Knights are planning to make their offer at the end of the season, and it is clear that the Glazers are not interested, so its been suggested that they wouldn't sell at £1.5 billion, as an offer has come in from the Middle East.

"As far as we know there hasn't been bids for some time, and the message then was that the Glazers were not interested."

Soccernet broke the story on March 4, that the Glazers had turned down an offer from a Middle East group and another from China. It was later confirmed that the world's leading super-agent Pini Zahavi was the middle man making the discreet enquires about the two bids, and that the Glazers were not selling.

It was then thought that an offer of £1.5 billion would be enough to tempt the Glazers. While the groups, from the Middle East and China, were prepared to pay £1.2 billion early in the New Year, the source has now poured cold water on the notion that those bids were even higher.

"It simply doesn't add up, or make any sense" the city expert remarked. ''But this is just a case of upping the ante from people who are not interested in selling and who want to get that message across before any formal offer is made by the Red Knights, if indeed one is made."

The Red Knights value Manchester United at £800 million, but know that a bid in that area would fall well short of the Glazers' expectations if ever they thought about a sale.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.