The Glazer family is reportedly open to selling a minority stake in Manchester United amid the growing unrest surrounding the ownership of the club.
Discussions have already begun in regards to bringing in a new investor at Old Trafford, although details are few and far between at this early stage. As a result, the identities of the people involved are yet to be revealed.
This is a big step in the Glazer family's running of the club, but they are not yet prepared to hand over full control of Man United. In fact, according to Bloomberg, there is no certainty they will even sell the minority stake that has allegedly been offered to investors.
The Americans reportedly value the club at £5billion.
Meanwhile, The Independent claim that multiple meetings have taken place between financial titans with huge net-worth and brokers since May of this year. This stems from the fact that there is a brewing consensus among those in the know that the Red Devils are available to purchase for the right price.
Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is thought to be the bookmakers' favourite considering the British billionaire already boasts experience when it comes to owning a football club after his company bought Ligue 1 outfit OGC Nice. Ineos has kept quiet over whether meetings with a view to buying United were held.
Tesla owner Elon Musk caused quite the stir in the early hours of Wednesday morning when he declared to his millions of Twitter followers that he was buying United. Just four hours later, the billionaire tech titan confessed that he was joking.
Industry sources believe that a deal that would undoubtedly become the biggest ownership takeover in global sports history is now a realistic prospect within the next two years. There are multiple factors that are thought to have inspired the Glazers to soften their stance to sell.
Disgruntled United fans may actually have Chelsea owner Todd Boehly to thank. The American spearheaded Clearlake Capital Group's acquisition of the Blues for a fee that shocked many - including United's owners.
Boehly's consortium forked out €5.24bn for the west London-based outfit, which in turn made those at the top of the Red Devils sit up and take notice.
Old Trafford has become an increasingly toxic place in recent months as United supporters have grown tired of the way their club is being run.
Red Devils supporters have staged countless protests, with one being planned for this coming weekend's clash with bitter rivals Liverpool.
United club legend Gary Neville spoke out on Sky Sports about the Glazers following the 4-0 defeat by Brentford, which leaves the Red Devils bottom of the Premier League.
He said on Sky Sports: "We are continually saying the same things about the same people. However, I can't believe that Ralf Rangnick said they were going to need open-heart surgery. He was the guy that was going to come in and direct this club moving forward beyond his coaching role.
"They have obviously not listened to him, or have got a complete inability to bring players into the club - and that's the problem now. Manchester United, in the past, over the last 10 years, have always answered the fans' anger through money and spending it in the transfer market. The problem is now, that nobody wants to take the money - and that is the issue.
"Nobody wants to take the money. They can't spend the money and that is a big problem. As I said at half-time if you are a player watching that performance in the first half, what are you thinking about coming to this club? It is a great football club. It is a magic football club. It has been the biggest thing in my life and I could not be more proud to support the club.
"But at this moment in time, it is really, really desperate. There is no leadership, there is no voice. You can't blame an individual player or the manager; you have got to look above and look to the very top now.
"This week, honestly, they are going to get peppered, those players, the coach, the sporting department and the new CEO. But there is a family over there in America that is literally letting their employees take all the hits for them and that is unforgivable.
"Joel Glazer's got to get on a plane tomorrow, get over to Manchester and he has got to start and divert the issues away from the club, and tell everyone what the hell his plan is for the football club. What is he doing?
"How many times are we going to sit here and say that the players lack leadership and personality? These players have proven that they cannot handle it, so they needed to have a good transfer market. They have not had a good transfer market.
"When a business is failing and it's not performing, it is the owners of that business [who are to blame]. It is really simple. It is failing miserably. They took about £24million out of the club two months ago and they have now got a decrepit, rotting stadium, which is, to be fair, second-rate, when it used to be the best in the world 15-20 years ago.
"You have got a football club where they haven't got a clue. They have bankers in charge of the football club, not making football decisions. They have not appointed a sporting director.
"We can look at the players all you like, but there are that many big things that need to be put right first, they have got to show up and basically face the music. Now is the time. They can't keep hiding in Tampa and thinking that nothing is going to come back to them."
