Manchester United Sale Saga Leaves Fans With More Questions Than Answers

Nearly a year after Manchester United opened the doors to outside investment, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe looks set to buy a 25 percent stake in the English Premier League club. A proposed deal worth a reported 1.3 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) is expected to be ratified at a United board meeting on Thursday. But the fact that the Glazer family will remain in control of the club comes as a bitter disappointment for most fans, who were desperate to see the back of the unpopular Americans.

"It would be wildly optimistic to think the Glazers are acting in the interests of supporters or are making ownership decisions which don't centre on their own priorities," the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) said in a statement this week.

United's fortunes on and off the field have suffered since the Glazers took charge at Old Trafford in a leveraged takeover in 2005 for 790 million pounds.

The brilliance of former manager Alex Ferguson kept the Red Devils at the top of the English and European game during the early years of the Glazer reign.

However, United have not won the Premier League since Ferguson retired in 2013 and last lifted the Champions League back in 2008.

A miserable start to this season has left Erik ten Hag's men 10th in the Premier League and at risk of an embarrassing early Champions League exit after losing their opening two group games for the first time.

Where does the money go?

Ratcliffe, founder of petrochemicals giant INEOS, will reportedly seek to take control of the club's football operations in return for his sizeable investment.

But many question how a minority owner can have the sway in practice to control the core operation of a business.

"How does a minority shareholder stop cultural