When news broke of a bid to buy Manchester United from a largely unknown Qatari billionaire last Friday night, the battle lines were immediately drawn and the vicious abuse of anyone having the temerity to point out issues was dialled up to 11.
This has played out before, notably during Newcastle’s takeover by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in 2021 and in the run up to the Qatar World Cup. Yet United’s cache is so great that the scale of venom from nameless and faceless social media accounts appears unprecedented.
At its heart this is a battle for the future of one of the sport's most famous clubs, a community asset for more than a century which millions care deeply about; but do they care about success or what the club has historically stood for? The answer to that depends on the resistance and concerns around the potential next owner.
