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Man who could have bought Man Utd for £10m on regret over biggest mistake of his life


Michael Knighton once agreed a deal to buy Manchester United for just £10million.

Thirty years on, he reckons that the Saudi Arabian royal family have a £4billion bid on the table – and that still vastly undervalues the club.

“If I owned United, I wouldn’t sell for less than £10billion,” says the man who is still rich enough to smile while he describes his ­decision to pull out of the agreement to ­purchase the biggest club in English football back in 1989 as “the biggest mistake of my life.”

At 68, Knighton isn’t short of a few quid. The former school teacher built a property portfolio strong enough to put him in a ­position to become the king of Old Trafford three decades ago.

For 62 days, he was chairman-elect.

That was long enough for him to give Alex Ferguson the green light to spend a ­British record £2.3m for a defender, Gary Pallister.

Knighton could have bought United for just £10m

When the intense media scrutiny that came with the takeover deal prompted him to hand back the contract he had agreed with the then club chairman Martin ­Edwards, his ­reward was a seat on the board.

He got a close-up view as Edwards then used the blueprint for success Knighton had written to turn United into global giants both on and off the pitch.

A new book about Knighton’s rollercoaster ride aims to put the record straight on a few of the myths that have emerged in the years since he famously introduced himself to the Old Trafford fans by juggling a ball in front of the Stretford End.

“I wasn’t showing off,” recalled Knighton, whose great grandfather William Layton ­escaped from the coal mines of South ­Yorkshire to win two league titles and the FA Cup with Sheffield Wednesday.

“Football was in my blood. My own career was ended before it had really started after I suffered a serious knee injury playing for Coventry.

“I just wanted to show the United fans that I was one of them – a working-class lad who just happened to have made a few bob.

“In the end, the deal didn’t happen – and not a day goes by when I don’t kick myself for not seeing it through.

He says he would now not sell for less thnan £10billion

“I’m known as ‘the man who tried to buy Manchester United but didn’t have the money’.

“But that’s absolute rubbish. I had the cash alright – and I also had a £24million overdraft ­facility to back it up.

“In fact, when Martin ­Edwards told me he wanted £10million for his shares, I almost fell off my chair because I was ready to pay four times as much.

“In the end I joined the board and Martin used the blueprint I had written to ­revolutionise the club. Back then, United were turning over £7million-a-year and had just announced a loss of £1.3million.

“I had spotted the commercial rewards that would come with satellite TV, but got ­absolutely crucified in the media when I said that I was going to make United a truly global brand and the biggest football club in the world.

“That’s why I have no false modesty and say that Manchester United are the ­commercial juggernaut they are today ­because of me.”

It pains Knighton to see United’s current owners, the Glazers, so reviled.

Knighton has spoken about his ‘biggest regret’

He saw how close Ferguson was to getting the sack in the early days of 1990 before ­winning the FA Cup bought the Scot the time he needed to become the club’s ­greatest manager ever.

He believes the Glazer family will be forced into selling if they fail to bring back the glory days inside the next two years.

Knighton said: “My contacts tell me there’s a bid for the club from Saudi Arabia on the table worth £4billion.

“The Glazer family say the club isn’t for sale, but if they fail to put a team on the pitch ­capable of challenging for the Premier League and qualifying for the Champions League ­inside the next two years they might have to think again.

“So far, United’s commercial operation has been insulated from the lack of ­trophies since Sir Alex retired – by the success that he built up over 26 years.

“But the Glazers won’t get away with another three or four seasons of under-achievement because blue-chip companies don’t want to be ­associated with a team that has become ­synonymous with losing.

“Something is wrong with United at an executive level. A club should not be run by an accountant, which is what [executive vice-chairman] Ed Woodward is.

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“I keep hearing Mr Woodward has done some brilliant commercial deals.

“No he hasn’t. He’s in charge of Manchester United. A monkey could have done those deals.”

It will be ironic if Arabian money does come flooding into Old Trafford – and not just because an Abu Dhabi sheikh has ­transformed bitter rivals Manchester City .

Thirty years ago, Knighton’s bid to buy United sparked an angry reaction from a boardroom that included the late Amer Al Midani, the playboy son of a Lebanese ­billionaire who also had designs on a takeover.

Knighton recalled: “When Martin ­announced his intention to sell the club to me, Midani was one of a group of directors who were furious they hadn’t had first refusal.

“Martin turned to me and said, ‘I could never sell Manchester United to an Arab.’

“His words alarmed me at the time – and when City started to overtake United, I did think it was the sweetest of ironies.”





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