Manchester United fans have laughed off Michael Knighton’s claims that he is planning an astonishing bid to buy out the Glazer family.

Fan groups have protested against their ownership at recent home matches with anti-Glazer chants filling the air.

But 70-year-old Knighton, who came close to buying the club and famously juggled a ball on the Old Trafford pitch in 1989, is apparently drawing up a bid to buy the Americans out in a hostile takeover.

Knighton told YouTube channel Man Utd The Religion, that the club has an ‘inept and frankly useless ownership’, and that he is making ‘good progress’ towards his objective of taking over the club.

Supporters have gathered on social media to mock Knighton for his claims, with some claiming that even they had a better chance of taking over the club. 

One Twitter user in response to a post saying Knighton was worth £7million, replied: ‘He doesn’t have £7m, I can assure you. He has less in the bank than my 8yr old.’

Michael Knighton has claimed that he is planning a bid to takeover Manchester United

Fans have taken to social media to mock Knighton’s intentions after his prior failed takeover

United fan Wayne Davies suggested he had more chance of buying United, joking that he only has ‘about £3.45 in the bank.’

Dale Bowen joked that he was preparing for a date with Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson, adding: ‘Let’s see what happens first.’

A number of fans wrote that if Knighton is the answer, then they ‘don’t want to know’ what the question is.

Nigel Bailey tweeted: ‘I know we are in a bad place at the moment, but if the answer is Michael Knighton I don’t want to know the question #GlazersOut #ArnoldOut #MurtoughOut @ManUtd you are a disgrace.’ 

Knighton famously juggled a ball on the Old Trafford pitch in 1989 amid his failed attempts to buy United

Twitter user @B1rdSteve wrote: ‘If Michael Knighton is the answer, I despair to think what the question might be.

‘I seriously would not trust him to run me a bath, never mind a football club. No!

‘If he walked into a board room to negotiate with the Glazers, they’d toy with him like 6 cats with an injured mouse.’ 

Other fans made reference to Knighton juggling the ball on the Old Trafford pitch before his takeover fell through in 1989. 

Rob Rees suggested it was a publicity stunt, as he wrote: ‘Michael Knighton ffs, I remember being in the Stretford end when he came out juggling the ball and sticking it in the net.

‘Thought he was the saviour at the time, how naive was I, didn’t take long for it to go tits up. Once bitten, twice shy, good publicity stunt though.’

One fan though didn’t mind the idea of Knighton taking over from the Glazers, suggesting he’d watch him do kick ups before every game.

They wrote: ‘I’ll watch Michael Knighton do kick ups before every game, he can get Diana Ross taking penalties if he gets the Glazers out.’

While some fans were excited about the prospect of a takeover from the Glazers, others weren’t so enthused going off their prior experience of Knighton.

One fan suggested they’d watch Knighton do kick ups before every game if meant the Glazers were gone

A Man United news account wrote: ‘Excuse me if I don’t get too excited about this. We’ve been down this road before with Michael Knighton – he was full of it then and is full of it now.’

Another user wrote: ‘Michael Knighton? He’s the clown who tried it in the 80s. He doesn’t have the money. Next.’

Mike Shears added: ‘Michael Knighton throwing around big promises without actually having the guy who has the money to buy the club.

‘Just making himself sound relevant in the hope that something happens.’

While Twitter user Robert commented: ‘Michael Knighton couldn’t even buy it for 1 million when he had the chance he’s a fkin sausage.’ 

Businessman Knighton is pictured with United manager Sir Alex Ferguson back in 1989

 In 1992, he went on to buy fourth-tier club Carlisle United.

During his time at Carlisle, Knighton became increasingly unpopular with fans, a group of whom formed an independent supporters’ trust, known initially as CCUIST and today as The United Trust, to protest against his control and lobby for more fan involvement in the club.

One United fan warned: ‘Look at what he did to Carlisle United before you get too excited, the supporters hated him as much as we hated the Glazers.’ 

Knighton told the Man Utd The Religion channel: ‘They (the Glazer family) have to stop drawing these huge dividends out of the club. We have to stop paying these huge debt servicing costs. It is time for them to sell.

‘Putting this bid together, I don’t need to be the front person, I don’t need to be the spokesperson. I just want to see our Manchester United Football Club in the hands of proper football people with proper vision.

‘We need to repair our stadium and put our club back where it belongs. Not among these also-rans. We are in crisis and it won’t alter until they go.

‘We will make a formal hostile bid.’ 

Knighton had a £20million bid accepted for the ownership of United but the takeover collapsed when Bob Thornton and Stanley Cohen withdrew their cash

Knighton had a £20million bid accepted for United in August 1989 – a record bid for a British football club at the time.  

Knighton, who made his fortune in property, shot to prominence in August 1989 when he made a takeover bid of £20million for United, which was a record bid for a British football club at the time.

Knighton’s NK Trafford Holdings company included investors such as former Debenhams executive Bob Thornton and Stanley Cohen of the Betterware home shopping firm.

But when Thornton and Cohen withdrew their cash in mid-September, the takeover collapsed despite Knighton’s frantic attempts to find other investors.