How super-rich Manchester United fans could power a £1billion revolution

11 April 2012

The Red Knights, the group of City and business types anxious to drive the Glazers from Manchester United and turn the club over to a wider ownership base, have been talking and plotting for months.

Led by Jim O'Neill, chief economist of Goldman Sachs but acting in a personal capacity and Paul Marshall, founder of the Marshall Wace hedge fund, they have received pledges from around 30 fellow super-wealthy Reds of £15million each.

Their target is 50, which would give the consortium £750m. They would then look to the less well-off fans to contribute the £250m they think they need to reach £1billion figure they suspect the Glazers would consider selling for.

Or, if time is of the essence, they would borrow the difference and repay the loans by raising the cash among the fans at a later date.

By anyone's calculation, £15m is a lot of money but United have vast support which includes many extremely rich individuals. By the Red Knights' reckoning, someone must be prepared to put up 10 per cent of their wealth.

So what they're looking for is 50 die-hard Reds with £150m to their names.The chances of getting there must be high.

They've also got some heavyweight City connections — in Freshfields, the solicitors and Finsbury, the PR agency. The significance of their involvement will not be lost on the Glazers: both Freshfields and Finsbury advised Manchester United when the Glazers' bought the club in 2005.

The Red Knights' reach stretches into the heart of the club: O'Neill is a close friend of Sir Alex Ferguson; and he also knows Maurice Watkins, the club's solicitor and a director; and Martin Edwards, who used to control the club.

The Glazers may be insisting United are not for sale but in the Red Knights they must know they are facing tough opposition.

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