Rio Ferdinand believes that David Beckham could be a potential buyer in light of the news that the Glazer family are prepared to sell Manchester United Football Club.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel, the former defender argued that a consortium-backed Beckham bid is far from beyond the realms of possibility.
“Becks will come with a consortium,” he hinted. “I saw Becks last night at the game, I went to the England game, and we were sat next to each other.”
Whether the likelihood of such a bid by the former England star was discussed is unclear, but Ferdinand certainly seemed to have put some thought into the matter.
“When you mention someone like Becks’ name, he’s obviously a part-owner of Inter Miami, but he doesn’t come on his own. It’s not his money. It’s not him in terms of putting his hand in his pocket.
“He comes with a consortium. He comes with people who do have deep pockets who have the ability to go and execute on a deal like that.
“So that’s the way he’ll be approaching it, and rightly so. I just think it’s going to come down to a number. If you’ve got the number, and you can produce, that’s what it’s going to be about.”
Beckham has been an owner with Inter Miami since its foundation ahead of the 2020 MLS season and the club has generally been on an upward curve under the management of fellow ex-United man Phil Neville.
Whether he would look to similarly instil former United personnel in key positions were he to be part of a takeover of MUFC is unknown, but Rio Ferdinand believes that such a move would only be good for the club.
“When you look at it, the clubs that are successful over big periods of time have players that have worn the shirt, understand the traditions, understand the history, understand the ethos of the football club, and continue that.
“Ajax with Edwin van der Sar, Bayern Munich have Rummenigge in there among others, Real Madrid, Barca – they all do it.
“They’ve all got players who have been in and around the football club at some point in their life and they’re back in there working at the club because they understand it. And it’s a key part.
“And then they have businesspeople around them, to facilitate and run things and control the business element of the football club.
“And then those people learn on the job, but with a football background. And I think that’s an area that the new owners that potentially come in have to really look at.”
While some fans would argue that a ‘jobs for the boys’ approach would be detrimental to the club’s future, Ferdinand does highlight some good examples in his analysis. It is certainly an approach that Sir Alex Ferguson has historically been a fan of.
But for Manchester United to compete with clubs like Manchester City, it is imperative that any prospective owners place a higher value on expertise than familiarity.
The news that the Glazers are willing to sell up and move on has naturally excited fans, but these next few months could shape the next few decades at Old Trafford.
