‘Will come’ - Rio Ferdinand’s David Beckham Man Utd takeover claim after personal chat

Rio Ferdinand has been discussing the possibility of David Beckham making a takeover approach at Old Trafford.
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Rio Ferdinand has claimed David Beckham could attempt to purchase Manchester United amid the Glazers’ big decision. It was confirmed last week that the Glazer family will follow the lead of Liverpool owners FSG by searching for a buyer for the club.

Fans have been calling for the Glazers to sell United for years, but they resisted until now, despite regular criticism over their management of the club, particularly in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure.

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The question now is who can buy a club valued at £6billion by the Glazers and £3.8billion by Forbes at last count? English billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been tipped to make an approach having tried to buy the club in the past, while a consortium seems the most likely option aside from Ratcliffe, much like the Todd Boehly-led consortium that purchased Chelsea for £2.5billion earlier this year.

One of the options being mooted is a consortium led by United legend David Beckham, who is already part of one ownership group. Beckham, along with Jorge Mas and Jose Mas, set up MLS franchise Inter Miami in 2018, and he remains the owner of the South Florida club.

Beckham is said to be worth around £370million, so any takeover would have to have significant backing from elsewhere, and that’s something Ferdinand believes will happen.

“Becks will come with a consortium,” claimed the former defender on his Vibe with Five podcast. “I saw Becks last night at the [England vs USA] game, I went to the England game and we were sat next to each other. He smelt beautiful, looked beautiful. He looked a million dollars, as he normally does. He didn’t look 10 billon dollars’ worth (the rumoured amount required to buy United).

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“But when you mention someone like Becks’ name, he’s obviously a part-owner of Inter Miami, but he doesn’t come [alone]. It’s not his money. It’s not him in terms of putting his hand in his pocket. He comes with a consortium. He comes with people who do have deep pockets who have the ability to go and execute on a deal like that.

“So that’s the way he’ll be approaching it, and rightly so. I just think it’s going to come down to a number. If you’ve got the number, and you can produce, that’s what it’s going to be about.”