Michael Knighton claims Man Utd takeover bid is 'moving forward'

Michael Knighton has provided an update on his planned takeover bid of Manchester United, assuring fans that 'things are moving forward'.

The 70-year-old, an ardent United supporter, revealed earlier this summer that he is assembling a consortium to try and oust rival competition from Sir James Ratcliffe.

Knighton came close to purchasing the Red Devils back in 1989, but his backers withdrew their financial support and he settled for a place on the club's board instead.

And the businessman has now taken to Twitter to explain the latest on his attempts to take control of United from the Glazer family.

"Thank you all for the wonderful messages of support. There is much going on behind the scenes," he said. "Things are moving forward as planned. I apologise I can't be on this platform more, just bogged down in meetings. God bless & every good wish to all of you. [Your] support is greatly appreciated."

When news of his intentions to buy United first came to light, Knighton did not hold back in his assessment of the club's position because of the Glazers' mismanagement.

"We are a club in crisis and we all know the reason why," he told Man Utd The Religion. "We have an inept and frankly useless ownership who know little about this game of football. Everyone knows that we need new ownership of this football club and that is my aim and those are my objectives

"I am making good progress, continuing to talk to the people, I have got some good pledges and good finance. We are now working on the offer document. Remember, it is a hostile bid - that simply means that the club isn't officially for sale. But my intention is to present these owners with a legitimate, potent and commercial offer to say: 'You have run out of road, your time is up'.

"The fans worldwide have had enough of this regime. The exciting feeling of a new season, which we all have, and that balloon of excitement that is there, it was all burst when we quickly saw the performance against Brighton.

"The club is in crisis and it will remain in crisis while we have this current ownership. We need to rid our football club of this ownership as they have had their day, time has run out and we have had 17 years of disappointment, really. It is time for them to go.

"They have to stop drawing these huge dividends out of the club. We have to stop paying these huge debt servicing costs. It is time for them to sell. Putting this bid together, I don't need to be the front person, I don't need to be the spokesperson. I just want to see our Manchester United Football Club in the hands of proper football people with proper vision."