‘Beckham will come with a consortium’ – Man Utd takeover bid expected from legendary No.7 as Ferdinand offers insider knowledge

WHAT HAPPENED? Former England captain Beckham was a member of the fabled ‘Class of ‘92’ that emerged out of the Old Trafford youth system to become Premier League and Champions League title winners. The legendary No.7, who left United for Real Madrid in 2003, is now a co-owner at MLS side Inter Miami, but a former team-mate in Manchester believes he will be interested in forming part of a bid to wrestle control of a global heavyweight away from the much-maligned Glazer family.

WHAT THEY SAID: Ex-United defender Ferdinand has told his YouTube channel of insider knowledge that he has been able to obtain: “Becks will come with a consortium. I saw Becks last night at the game, I went to the England game and we were sat next to each other. He smelt beautiful, looked beautiful. He looked a million dollars, as he normally does. He didn’t look 10 billion dollars’ worth!

“But when you mention someone like Becks’ name, he’s obviously a part-owner of Inter Miami, but he doesn’t come [alone]. It’s not his money. It’s not him in terms of putting his hand in his pocket. He comes with a consortium. He comes with people who do have deep pockets who have the ability to go and execute on a deal like that. So that’s the way he’ll be approaching it, and rightly so. I just think it’s going to come down to a number. If you’ve got the number, and you can produce, that’s what it’s going to be about.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The Glazers have confirmed their desire to “explore strategic alternatives”, with The Raine Group charged with the task of acting as financial advisors. Several interested parties have already been mooted, either as part of an investment or complete takeover of the club.

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WHAT NEXT? It has been suggested that the Glazers will ask for between £6-8 billion ($7-10bn) in any discussions regarding a change of ownership at United, with the Americans having faced criticism throughout their tenure. Any takeover will likely take a while, although former player Gary Neville tipped United to beat Liverpool in securing new owners.