Nearly a year after Manchester United opened the doors to outside investment, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe looks set to buy a 25 percent stake in the English Premier League club.

A proposed deal worth a reported £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) is expected to be ratified at a United board meeting on Thursday.

But the fact that the Glazer family will remain in control of the club comes as a bitter disappointment for most fans, who were desperate to see the back of the unpopular Americans.

"It would be wildly optimistic to think the Glazers are acting in the interests of supporters or are making ownership decisions which don't centre on their own priorities," the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) said in a statement this week.

United's fortunes on and off the field have suffered since the Glazers took charge at Old Trafford in a leveraged takeover in 2005 for £790 million.

Read full story on sport.timesofmalta.com

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