TODAY, Manchester United is a business worth around £3billion.They are one of the world’s most valuable sports teams, thanks in part to a dominance of the British game in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, as well as clever marketing that means their name is recognised around the globe.
Businessman Michael Knighton almost bought Man Utd for £10million in 1989Credit: PA
Knighton’s takeover bid was accepted before he was forced to withdraw his offerCredit: Getty
But in 1989, a then much-maligned club and starved of success, the Red Devils were on the verge of being taken over for just £10million.
Property developer Michael Knighton, now 69, had announced the takeover a day before their opening game of the season at Old Trafford against Arsenal.
Then, on the Saturday, he stood in front of the Stretford End and took in the cheers from some 48,000 fans before the game, appearing in an official team training kit and expertly juggling a football on the pitch.
His plans were to turn Manchester United into a £150million business. He saw that with TV money on the horizon from an expected Sky TV bid, it could be a lucrative money-spinner.
However, behind-the-scenes a secret plot schemed by the United hierarchy was desperate to dissuade Knighton from completing a deal.
Some were said to be miffed by his flamboyant appearance on the sacred Theatre of Dreams turf before the opening Division One game of the 1989-90 season.
While, private documents outlining a blueprint for his plans appeared at a well-known newspaper mogul’s home and ended up putting pressure on Knighton to withdraw his bid, thus ending his dream.
BOARD RESENTMENT
A former school teacher, Knighton made his fortune building a property portfolio in the 1980s.
And in Manchester United he quite rightly saw their potential as an investment, and understood that ex-chief executive Martin Edwards would entertain an offer.
Knighton laps up the applause at Old Trafford before the opening game of the 1989-90 seasonCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
Property developer Knighton shows off his ball skills in a full United training kit ahead of the Division One opener against ArsenalCredit: Hulton Archive – Getty
At Derby in the second game of the campaign, Knighton shakes hands with the fans in the standsCredit: Rex
“The raison d’etre was very simple,” Knighton revealed.
“There was a lot of resentment against the board. Edwards was incredibly unpopular and desperate to exit. The business was losing money and home gates had fallen to as low as 18-20,000.”
United’s vast fanbase was key to Knighton’s theory. It’s what encouraged him to walk onto the pitch and orchestrate the crowd like a master politician would his voters.
“I wanted to show the fans I was a football man first and a businessman second,” he said.
“I wanted to bridge the gap between the boardroom and the terraces. Yes, it was novel. It was unorthodox. I knew it would attract interest and criticism. But I didn’t care. I needed the fans on my side more than I needed Bobby Charlton or Alex Ferguson, whose job was on the line at that time.
“I knew there was a massive captive market. If you are going to exploit that market, not in a pejorative sense, to sell them everything in order to generate the profits to buy any player in the world, you need them on your side.
“Look at what is happening now with the current owners and how the sponsors are being lobbied and some fans are not buying memorabilia and shirts.
“Of course I loved it. Who wouldn’t? Despite how it all turned out, I don’t regret going on that pitch and if I had £5bn to buy Manchester United today, I would do exactly the same again. I was fulfilling every schoolboy dream in the world.
“If you look at the pictures of that day and the smiles on the faces of the fans in the stadium, it worked.”
‘NOT VERY UNITED’
Knighton’s entertaining turn at Old Trafford, that would’ve given Simply Red singer, United fan and 80s icon Mick Hucknall a run for his money even at that time, riled the stiff board.
Former United chief executive Martin Edwards was said to have regretted his decision to sell after Knighton’s extravagant appearanceCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Behind the scenes, the United hierarchy were looking for a way out of the Knighton dealCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
“Ridiculous”, one senior official called it – and it was at this point it was said that Edwards began to regret his decision to sell to the extravagant businessman.
Knighton’s way wasn’t the United way, despite Edwards revealing in his programme notes before a game against Norwich he wanted to sell the club and Knighton’s money would be put to use in developing the ground.
“It is not a secret that we have wished to develop the Stretford End for a number of years now,” Edwards wrote.
“The budget of £7.5m made me realise the commencement of the work is light years away.
“What Mr Knighton’s offer has brought us is the opportunity to develop the stadium as well as the playing staff and this offer was impossible to refuse.”
But privately Edwards was looking for a way out.
SECRET DOSSIER
With every TV appearance Knighton made talking about buying United, he irked senior figures more.
Bizarrely, a document known as his ‘blueprint’ to help United become a £150million operation was mysteriously left at the house of newspaper owner Eddy Shah, who was a pal of the United hierarchy.
Shah immediately got in touch and senior board members rushed to his Macclesfield home.
A secret dossier outlining Knighton’s plans fell into the hands of newspaper mogul Eddy ShahCredit: Getty
Knighton with United legend Sir Alex FergusonCredit: Getty
Even United legend Bobby Charlton arrived at the scene, and was said to have had a calming influence on Shah’s aggressive dogs purely by his presence.
The dossier was supposed to be private. The fact it had got out put Knighton under pressure to withdraw his bid.
Knighton was offered a place on the board, if he opted out of a deal. He accepted.
For the next three years, he was a quiet influence in the boardroom, until 1992 when he bought Carlisle, before finally walking away from football 10 years later.
After that period, United went on to dominate the domestic game and adding European trophies to their trophy cabinet.
“It is extraordinary how Martin Edwards has claimed credit for what happened in the following decade after my involvement. Unbelievable,” Knighton said..
“I kept my mouth shut and my head down because my reputation had been hammered and it is virtually impossible to change a public image.
After three years on the board at Old Trafford, Knighton left to become Carlisle chairmanCredit: Rex
Now 69, Knighton isn’t involved in football anymoreCredit: The Sun
“But Martin and the other people on the board decided to hide behind the fiasco Michael Knighton caused and claim the credit themselves.
“If they could really see what was going to happen, why did they agree to sell the club for £10m?”
Now, we’ll never know.
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