A group of wealthy Manchester United supporters, the Red Knights, confirmed on Tuesday that they had begun moves towards a possible takeover of the heavily-indebted club.

But Gill told the Soccerex conference in Manchester on Wednesday the Glazers were staying at Old Trafford.

“The owners are very long-term owners and have shown that with Tampa Bay (American football team), which they took over in 1994-5,” he said.

“They are not sellers, (but) that’s not saying people like these Red Knights can’t come forward with some ideas.

“But there is no indication to mean that they want to sell and in that case they cannot buy the asset, it’s not for sale.”

The Red Knights group, which includes some senior City of London figures including Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill, want to wrest control of the Premier League champions from the US-based Glazers.

The most recent accounts for United’s parent company, Red Football Joint Venture, showed that it had debts of 719 million pounds (1.08 billion dollars).

Fans fear the cost of servicing that debt will slow investment in Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, if it is not already doing so.

For any takeover bid to succeed, the would-be purchasers would need in excess of one billion pounds to enable the Glazers to walk away with the kind of profit on their investment that would convince them to sell.

However, Gill insisted: “The Glazers have no wish to sell and from our perspective they are running the club in the right way.”

And he said any Red Knights takeover would lead to a loss of clarity and efficiency in the way United was run.

“The Red Knights proposal, the idea of having 20, 30 or 40 very wealthy people running Manchester United, I don’t know how it would work in practice.

“The better-run clubs are where there is clear, single decision-making and it’s quick and efficient — Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City, Silvio Berlusconi at AC Milan.

“Having a number of wealthy people involved, they will all want to be involved in decision-making.

“I’m not sure what their endgame is but the endgame is irrelevant.

“The vast majority of fans of Manchester United should be happy with what we are doing and staying at the top of domestic and world football.”

Some United supporters, though, have taken to wearing green and yellow scarves, the colours of the original Newton Heath club from which United emerged, in protest at the Glazers.

But Gill said a measure of unhappiness was unavoidable.

“We have 330 million followers around the world, that’s a key strength and within that it’s highly likely you will have some dissenters.”

He added the 80 million pounds transfer fee from the sale of Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo was still available for Ferguson to spend on signing players.

“Without doubt,” he said. “We are looking at players all the time, the money from Ronaldo is sitting there in the bank account, we have been clear on that.

“But Alex has been very clear he is not going out to chase and over-pay for a player just because everyone else thinks we should.

“He’s a Scot, he wants value for money.”

MANCHESTER (AFP)

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The England forward’s double in the mid-week Champions League victory against AC Milan took his tally for the season to 25 goals and he will be eager for more as United continue their quest for a fourth straight Premier League title at Goodison Park.

Rooney has become something of a hate figure for Everton fans, having left the club to move to Old Trafford in 2004, but he will be the last person who wants United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to give him a rest this weekend with their side a point behind leaders Chelsea.

“Particularly in the last two months we have seen development in his game and confidence has a lot to do with that,” Ferguson said of Rooney.

“His basic ability is as good as any of (the world’s top) players. What he’s got to do is improve his goalscoring, which he’s now doing and if he continues that trend then he’s got to be regarded alongside any player.”

Louis Saha may hope Manchester United go on to win the Premier League title but such thoughts will be at the back of the in-form Everton striker’s when he faces his old club this weekend.

Saha, whose four seasons at Old Trafford were plagued by injuries, has scored 15 goals so far this season and was on target twice in Everton’s 2-1 win over league leaders Chelsea earlier this month.

Everton, ninth in the table and 23 points off top spot, may be out of title contention themselves but, having cut Chelsea’s lead to just a point, they are ready to play another significant part in the destiny of the championship.

“I’d love to say Everton are going to win the league but obviously that’s not going to happen,” said Saha.

“Chelsea are very strong but I think United are better, and personally I would be delighted if they won it,” the 31-year-old Frenchman added.

The Merseysiders’ task on Saturday, however, will be made harder by the absence of Marouane Fellaini, out for six months with an ankle injury, while Australia midfielder Tim Cahill is doubtful after suffering a calf problem in the mid-week Europa Cup win over Sporting Lisbon.

Chelsea will look to get their title bid back on track when they travel to Wolves, who are just a point above the relegation zone.

Third-placed Arsenal, who are six points adrift of London rivals Chelsea, will fancy their chances against a Sunderland side who’ve won just one of their 13 away games in the league so far this season.

Manchester City and Liverpool, two sides scrapping for a fourth-place finish that will guarantee Champions League football next season, go head to head at Eastlands on Sunday.

City have climbed to fourth and are a point in front of Liverpool, who narrowly beat Romanian side Unirea Urziceni in the Europa League on Thursday, with a game in hand over the Reds.

Manchester City’s Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong is relishing the contest.

“Liverpool is always going to be a huge game and a match we will be giving our all to win,” he said.

“We also have the added incentive of knowing a win will dent one of our main rivals for a Champions League spot.

“Our fans have waited more than 30 years for success and I want to be part of the team that ends their long wait.”

Tottenham and Aston Villa, also aiming for European football next season, play relegation-threatened Wigan and Burnley respectively.

Bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth, whose financial problems continue to threaten the club’s very existence, are at home to Stoke while fellow strugglers Hull travel to West Ham.

Blackburn and Bolton meet in a Lancashire derby on Sunday when Fulham, fresh from a Europa League win over Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, face Birmingham City.

Fixtures (1500GMT unless otherwise stated)

Saturday

Arsenal v Sunderland, Everton v Manchester United (1245GMT), Portsmouth v Stoke (1730GMT), West Ham v Hull, Wolves v Chelsea

Sunday

Aston Villa v Burnley (1400GMT), Blackburn v Bolton (1200GMT), Fulham v Birmingham, Manchester City v Liverpool, Wigan v Tottenham (1615GMT)

LONDON (AFP)

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Milan host the reigning Premier League champions in the San Siro on Tuesday in the first leg of the last-16 stage of the competition. However, the Brazilian coach has yet to decide whether to include Beckham against his former club.

“We know it’s a very special match for him,” said Leonardo.

“It’s very special to play in the Champions League against his own team, let’s say it like that.

“But we have got to analyse everything and we have a lot of players in good condition.

“We’ll see how everybody is to choose the best team.”

Leonardo believes Beckham’s versatility means the former England captain has a good chance of featuring against his former employers.

“I think he can play anywhere,” added Leonardo.

“He’s smart and intelligent and tactically he’s perfect.

“There are no problems choosing a system or a position for him.

“He’s been doing very well this year. He arrived in December and he knows the team and how we play.

“I think David has nothing to prove to anybody.”

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Benfica were the much stronger team in Tuesday’s semi final encounter with local rivals Sporting, beating their opponents 1-4. David Luiz, Ramires, Luisao and Oscar Cardozo scored for the away side, and only Liedson found the target for the hosts.

The second semi final took place on Wednesday as Porto beat Academica de Coimbra 1-0 at O Dragao stadium.

The defending league champions did struggle in their home match but finally broke the deadlock through Mariano Gonzalez in the 81st minute.

Benfica are the defending League Cup champions after beating Sporting in last year’s final.

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Fernando had been courted by several Italian clubs, including Genoa, during the close season, but he has negotiated a three-year extension and will now stay in south-west France until 2014.

Jussie, formerly of Cruzeiro and Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol, agreed a four-year extension that will see him stay with Laurent Blanc’s side until 2015.

BORDEAUX, France (AFP)

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Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken of the need to give Rooney a rest but the England forward’s form and importance to his team make such a move unlikely any time soon.

It took Rooney just seven minutes against struggling Hull to illustrate the point perfectly to his manager and also to ease the pressure and growing dissatisfaction around Old Trafford in the wake of recent developments off the field surrounding American owners the Glazer family.

The announcement this week that United’s debts stand at 716 million pounds did not impress many of the club’s supporters, even though a successful 500 million bond issue will allow the Glazers to re-structure that debt.

Ferguson felt moved, in his pre-match programme notes, to call upon supporters to show unity behind their club and cease their anti-Glazer agitating.

However, as long as Rooney remains fit and in the sort of goal-scoring form he showed against Hull, United’s future does not look quite so precarious.

United’s first goal came after Park Ji-Sung played the ball into the path of Paul Scholes, who drilled in a vicious shot which Hull goal keeper Boaz Myhill could only parry.

Rooney responded more quickly than anyone else on the field, gathering the loose ball and steadying himself before burying his 17th goal of the season into the gaping goal.

Goal number 18 came in the 82nd minute after Myhill had made a poor job of dealing with a long-range Nani free-kick. Rooney himself kept the loose ball in play and Nani found the forward, who finished clinically from 15 yards.

The hat-trick was just three minutes away as the irrepressible forward ran in to meet Nani’s hanging cross and head into the goal from six yards.

For good measure, the 20th goal of Rooney’s increasingly remarkable season followed in injury-time as he collected Dimitar Berbatov’s neat flick, saw three defenders back off, and converted his shot from 12 yards.

Rooney, partnered by Michael Owen, who was making just his fifth league start of the campaign, was comfortably his team’s greatest threat, from early in the contest, and, midway through the first half, almost had a hand in two more goals.

First, he met Nani’s cross with a devastating shot on the turn which looped off a defender and behind for a corner. Then, seconds later, Rooney produced an audacious back heel which played in Owen but the former England striker was slow to respond and Andy Dawson made the recovering tackle.

Rooney was again the threat, just after the half hour, when George Boateng brought down Park on the edge of the area and Rooney curled a free-kick beyond the Hull wall and inches past Myhill’s right-hand post.

While United only led by a goal, there was still anxiety, not aided when Jonny Evans’ weak back header almost allowed Nick Barmby to equalize, his shot being saved well by Edwin van der Sar.

The other side of Rooney’s football personality was on display just before the half-time whistle when he was booked for hacking at Stephen Hunt out of frustration having just lost the ball badly to Ricardo Garcia.

Also before the interval, Owen was on the end of the move of the match, a flowing passing sequence which ended with Nani’s neat through ball and a weak tap straight at Myhill from the out-of-sorts striker.

It was a similar story after the re-start with United creating enough chances to win the game comfortably before Rooney put the outcome beyond all doubt with a devastating spell of three more goals in the final eight minutes.

MANCHESTER (AFP)

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The figure includes the world record 80 million pounds (90 million euros) fee they pocketed for the sale of star forward Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid and also 41.9 million pounds paid out in interest on a mammoth loan of 509.5 million pounds.

Turnover was also up, from 80.4 million pounds in 2008 to 91.3 million pounds a year later.

The figures were released on a morning when United officially confirmed their intention to raise 500million pounds through bonds in order to refinance their debts.

Without the world record sale of Ronaldo, the reigning English Premier League champions would have been reporting a loss of 31.8 million pounds, a situation that clearly is unsustainable over the long term, hence the bonds issue.

“Manchester United today announced that it will be seeking to raise approximately 500million pounds aggregate principal amount from an offering of senior secured notes due 2017,” said a United statement.

“The notes, whose proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt secured against the club, will be issued by MU Finance plc.”

LONDON (AFP)

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Leeds, former English champions but currently playing in the third tier of domestic football after a spectacular fall from grace, will be the first in a series of key games for United.

After Sunday comes a meeting with Manchester City in the League Cup semi-finals before Premier League battle resumes again at Birmingham on January 9.

AC Milan are then on the agenda in the Champions League in February.

“Everyone looks ahead and speaks about the Christmas period but the matches we are into now straight afterwards are just as important,” said Fletcher.

“I just take each game as it comes and think all the other players do the same thing.

“You can look too far ahead of yourself and start thinking about what is to come whether you have an easy run of games.

“But it never works out like that. We have the FA Cup, the League Cup semi-final and then more important league games. The best thing to do is try to win them all.”

Teammate Michael Carrick said he is relishing United’s clash with Leeds and feels Sir Alex Ferguson’s side are on the verge of a fine burst of form.

United go into the new year two points off the Premier League leaders Chelsea and safely through to the knock-out phase of the Champions League.

Even so, England midfielder Carrick accepts United have not hit top gear yet during the campaign.

The Old Trafford club have lost five matches in the Premier League and have been beset by defensive injuries.

Those problems at the back are starting to clear up, with Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic forming what looks like a solid central defensive partnership.

Ferguson intends to use his youngsters in the League Cup against City but has said he will opt for a strong selection against League One leaders Leeds.

The Yorkshire club, who pipped Ferguson’s men to the domestic title in 1992, have been in the third division of English football for three years but as recently as a decade ago were significant top-flight contenders.

The teams’ first meeting since Leeds were relegated in 2004 is eagerly awaited and the visitors are set to bring 9,000 supporters to Old Trafford.

But Carrick is looking forward to his first taste of this most intense of fixtures.

“Experiencing those types of feisty atmospheres are why you play football,” Carrick said.

“Rivalries like that add extra spice. It is great for the fans and good for the players.

“No matter where you play, or whether the atmosphere is for or against you, it is a great feeling to play.

“Besiktas were very hostile when we went there earlier this season (in the Champions League) but it was still terrific to play in.

“Leeds are bringing a lot of fans and we are looking forward to it. It should be a cracking game.”

United have lost two of their last five matches at home but beat Wigan 5-0 last time out and Carrick is desperate for them to continue their improvement at Old Trafford against Leeds.

“We have not hit top form all season, especially at home,” Carrick conceded. “We have just been doing enough to get through. We know we are better than that and now is the time to do it.”

Ferguson has hinted that Gary Neville will play against Leeds and he will use a similar side to the one that thrashed Wigan.

Leeds have not won at Old Trafford since 1981 and they go into Sunday’s match as huge underdogs.

But midfielder Jonny Howson insists they have nothing to fear, having narrowly lost 1-0 to Liverpool in the League Cup earlier this season.

“They have big players but we want to test ourselves and impress against these players,” Howson said.

“We have players who can hurt and you saw that against Liverpool (in the League Cup). We caused them problems.

“I saw an interview with Jamie Carragher where he said we were their toughest game up to that point so I don’t see why we can’t cause them (United) problems on Sunday.”

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)

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The one-time starlet of French football impressed in his youth and was seen as a potential successor of Zinedine Zidane as he came through the ranks at Lyon.

Ben Arfa was linked with a move to one of Europe’s top clubs in 2008 but he opted to stay in France and ended up accepting a move to Olympique Marseille.

Ferguson has dug into the French market recently having already snapped up Gabriel Obertan from Bordeaux last summer and he is now reportedly interested in bringing Ben Arfa to Old Trafford.

United are reported to have made contact with Ben Arfa’s representatives. Sources say that United are offering for a loan deal with a view to making it a permanent move.

Other clubs interested in signing Ben Arfa on loan in January include Sevilla, Olympiakos and Tottenham Hotspur.

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The Blues saw out November with an emphatic 3-0 victory at Arsenal that led to Ancelotti’s side being hailed as Premier League champions-elect in some quarters.

But the mood has darkened since that game with a league defeat at Manchester City following a League Cup loss to Blackburn before this week’s scrambled home Champions League draw with APOEL Nicosia that the manager described as the worst performance since he took charge.

Suddenly the poise that accompanied Chelsea’s controlled start to the season looks a little less assured and there will be an added edge to their home meeting with Everton this weekend.

Manchester United’s victory at West Ham last weekend meant the champions capitalised on Chelsea’s loss at City, cutting the London club’s advantage at the head of the Premier League to just two points.

Another slip against Everton and the two leading clubs could be back on level terms, with the balance of power shifting towards Old Trafford.

No wonder, then, that Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole saw the meeting with the Merseysiders as a key match.

“We need to bounce back at the weekend and get back to winning ways,” the England international said. “Hopefully, we can do that on Saturday.

“The next five Premier League games are very important. The Christmas period is always vital. We want to still be sitting on top of the league at the start of January. If we do that we’ll be very happy.

“Any team can beat you in the Premier League and it’s very difficult to win games. There are no excuses. We’re sitting on top of the league now and need to be sitting there on January 1.”

Chelsea will be without influential midfielder Michael Essien after the Ghana star tore his right hamstring against Nicosia.

Essien will be out for up to four weeks, after which he will be leaving for international duty at the African Cup of Nations.

That tournament looms large for Chelsea, who won’t want to concede ground in the title race when they are set to be without Essien, Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel early in the New Year.

Everton visit west London on the back of last weekend’s dramatic draw against Tottenham, when they recovered from a two-goal deficit.

Their season was in danger of entering a serious decline but the spirit demonstrated by David Moyes’s men squad against Spurs gave hope that the Toffees were about to get themselves out of a sticky situation.

Everton could soon be bolstered by the arrival of the Los Angeles Galaxy’s United States international midfielder Landon Donovan on loan, a welcome addition given the injury problems at Goodison Park.

Joseph Yobo is likely to miss the rest of December with a hamstring injury but at least manager Moyes can call on John Heitinga after the Dutchman missed the 2-2 draw with Tottenham through suspension.

Even though Republic of Ireland Under-21 international Seamus Coleman impressed as a substitute against Spurs, the defender is not expecting a starting spot at Stamford Bridge.

“I’m not going to look too far ahead of myself. I want to play, everyone wants to play, but I’m not going to be unrealistic,” he said.

“It (the Spurs game) is only one game and one game is not going to make me a player, so I need to push on.”

LONDON (AFP)

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