6 of the most high-profile Man Utd takeover failures: Gaddafi, Murdoch, Qatar…

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has officially completed a minority takeover of Manchester United, acquiring a 27.7% stake in the club.

United’s status as one of the world’s biggest football clubs has attracted prospective buyers from far and wide, with many talking the talk about owning the club and dominating English football – without succeeding in their ambitions.

It’s taken some time, but Ratcliffe has finally got the keys to his boyhood club, at least in a minority capacity, seeing off all the competition.

Many have tried and failed to purchase the Red Devils. Here are six of the most notorious takeover bids through the years.

The controversial former Labour MP, father of disgraced Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, tried to buy United in 1984.

However, he did not meet then-owner Martin Edwards’ asking price and that was that. He ended up acquiring Mirror Group Newspapers that year instead.

Probably for the best, given that whilst chairman of Oxford United he tried to merge the club with Reading and call them ‘Thomas Valley Royals’.

Manchester City Red Devils, anyone?

In 1989, real estate developer Knighton put together a consortium alongside former Debenhams chief executive Robert Thorton and Parker Pens owner Stanley Cohen.

They pledged a £20million bid and Knighton – donning a full kit – even made an appearance doing kick-ups on the Old Trafford pitch at half-time of a match against Arsenal.

So close was the deal that many, including Martin Tyler, believed it to have been done – he introduced Knighton as “the new owner of Manchester United” in a pitchside interview. But not long after the move collapsed. Three years later the Premier League era began and United’s value skyrocketed. Ouch.

Maxwell wasn’t the only media mogul