From the MEN:
United fans have claimed that they came "very close" to clinching a deal to buy the club - just days before Malcolm Glazer swooped a year ago today.
M.E.N. Sport understands that pressure group Shareholders United had brokered a £600m deal with a global investment bank that would have delivered United into the hands of supporters.
But the group, which has now been transformed into supporters' trust MUST, baulked at the final hurdle as it would have meant lending money from American hedge funds, a step Shareholders United believed would have been "irresponsible and immoral" as it would require the club to pay off loans at interest rates of up to 20 per cent.
Glazer had no qualms about taking that step, and while SU hesitated, he launched a £790m bid that seized control of the club and sparked ongoing protests among supporters.
MUST claim that the deal is still in place, and will form the basis of a renewed supporters' bid for the club if, as some expect, Glazer either sells up in the next four years or his reign dissolves in a rainstorm of debt.
They claim that MUST would be in pole position to snap up the club and hand it over to supporters - in the same manner as Barcelona - if United come back onto the market at a reduced price.