Manchester United Supporters Trust has submitted a proposal to Trafford council for the ground to be registered as an asset of Community Value. It would give the fan group a greater chance of buying the group if the Glazer family sold up.
MUST has lodged an application to be granted the opportunity to buy Old Trafford should the stadium ever be put up for sale. However the Glazer family has not said anything about selling either the club or its ground, where United have played since 1910.
If accepted it won’t mean MUST can buy Old Trafford straight away. It will mean that if the Glazers happen to put the ground up for sale, Manchester United Supports Trust will have permission to be in the running.
MUST chief executive Duncan Drasdo said: “A listing reduces the chances that Old Trafford could be secretly sold off and worse still Manchester United move to a new location, as we’ve seen with such disastrous effects at several other English clubs. We don’t have any reason to assume the Glazers currently have any plans to sell Old Trafford. However, if that truly is the case, they should have no reason to oppose this application.”
Trafford council now has eight weeks to make a decision, leaving open the potential for Malcolm Glazer and the rest to appeal.
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