When the Glazers confirmed that they were open to selling Manchester United three weeks ago the expectation was that they had fired the starting gun on the richest auction in football.
United 's owners for the previous 17 years left the door ajar for new investment in the club, a deal that would allow a minority stakeholder to come on board and leave the Glazer family in charge, but nobody who was familiar with the process or the sale of elite clubs expected that to happen.
The family had been seeking investment since the summer, with significant projects underway in the redevelopment of Carrington and, especially, Old Trafford, but the fact they had now gone public to float the possibility of a full sale seemed to indicate that was the direction of travel.
