Glazers: United not for sale

The Glazer family have responded to reports of a summit meeting involving the key players behind the Red Knights group trying to oust them from Manchester United by again declaring they have no interest in selling the club.

With debts mounting and alarm bells ringing following details contained within the prospectus for the recent £500million bond sale, a group of mega-rich United fans are said to be planning to make a push to buy the Old Trafford outfit themselves.

Well-known football deal maker Keith Harris - a lifelong United fan - is at the centre of the group, along with Jim O'Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs.

Their hope is to try to starve the Glazers of cash and persuade them to accept a deal that would net the Americans around £1billion.

That move would certainly be popular with the growing number of fans who have joined the 'Green and Gold' campaign.

There were plenty of scarves in the distinctive colours of Newton Heath, the club United eventually became, in evidence at the Carling Cup final yesterday.

And the Manchester United Supporters Trust, who have always been opposed to the Glazers' ownership, are working with the men who provided the digital strategy for Barack Obama's US presidential campaign on a plan aimed at getting the club's controversial owners to relinquish their grip.

However, as it presently stands, the move seems destined to fail.

Members of the Glazer family were at Wembley to watch United overcome Aston Villa to win the Carling Cup.

And, judging by the often-repeated response to further questions about their ownership, it seems they are not going anywhere.

"Manchester United is not for sale," said a family spokesman.