Michael Knighton has admitted he does not have the sufficient resources behind him to own Manchester United.
Knighton made headlines earlier this month after announcing his plan to take over the club - supported by a consortium - with a 'hostile bid'. Knighton's interview detailing his plan with Man Utd The Religion now has over 400,000 views.
However, Knighton has not been involved in football since sending Carlisle into voluntary administration in 2002 and his interview was met with scepticism, with some questioning the legitimacy of his plan and doubting whether he had the required funds.
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Chelsea were recently bought for £4.25billion and it's estimated United would sell for a similar figure. Knighton is a successful businessman in his own right, but the chances of his group offering the Glazers such a fee the club were highly unlikely.
Knighton spoke with ITV News on Tuesday night and he admitted that he does not have sufficient resources to own United through his consortium. Instead, Knighton hinted his interview was to attract interest from Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
"They are small-time billionaires that I have been speaking to for three to four months now", Knighton said. "When I was approached by some fan groups, oddly enough, saying 'look, our club is dying on its feet' would you please do something?'
"I made a few phone calls and I've been pulling this consortium together ever since. We are not the great Sir Jim Ratcliffe. We do not have those resources. We are not some nation state sovereign fund who has oil revenue of two billion a day.
"The point is: someone had to make a stand. If we can smoke the great Sir Jim [Ratcliffe] out to buy Manchester United my consortium will be punching the air because we've achieved what we want to do. We will make the bid with our own consortium.
"But, I'll tell you this, we do not have the resources available to do everything that is needed."
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