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Red Knights' takeover bid hits the rocks

The Red Knights want to wrest control of Manchester United from the Glazers © Getty Images

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The Red Knights' hopes of taking over Manchester United appear to be waning as reports in the British media suggest that senior figures involved in the consortium are growing disillusioned with the attempts to buy out the Glazer family.

The Guardian reports that there are internal divisions among the group and that the problems come from bringing together so many different investors, while a source told the paper that a bid for the club - valued by the Glazers at around £1.5 billion - would only be for ''face-saving'' purposes after such a high-profile campaign.

The Red Knights have maintained that the Glazer family are overpricing the club in their estimation and any bid would likely come around the £800 million mark, while in their last public statement the group said the "process [of formalising a bid] is understandably complex and taking time" and that it would be "wrong to offer above fair value".

One of the hopes for the takeover bid was that some of the 55,000 season-ticket holders would not renew their tickets under the current regime, although such claims were played down by United chief executive David Gill, on Wednesday.

"If there's a threat, then we'll see but our season ticket sales and renewals for this upcoming season are on track for previous years," he said. "Our executive ticket renewals are on track, so we'll have to see at the start of the season, but we're envisaging sell-out crowds going forward for Manchester United."

The Manchester United Supporters' Trust, who have been embraced by the Red Knights' group, have criticised the Glazers publically, claiming that they have wasted too much money on interest payments.

"It really is incredible but since the Glazers took over they have wasted £437 million in fees and interest, more than the total ticket revenue (£398 million) for the full five-year period of their ownership," said a MUST spokesman. "Every single penny we've spent on our tickets over their five-year ownership has been wasted. Or to put it another way, every one of us could have attended every match free of charge for the last five years and on top of that the club could have given every season-ticket holder £700 each - and would still have been no worse off."

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