An open letter

AN OPEN LETTER TO MANCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTERS' GROUPS & ORGANISATIONS

A Call for Unity, Accountability and a Coordinated Supporters' Legal & Regulatory Campaign

Dear Manchester United Supporters' Groups and Organisations,

I am writing to you not as the representative of a supporters' organisation, political group or media platform, but simply as one Manchester United supporter who has decided that sitting on the sidelines is no longer enough. Like many of you, I have watched with growing frustration as our football club has moved further and further away from the Manchester United we know and love.

I believe we have sat on the sidelines long enough.

Manchester United is not simply an asset on a balance sheet. It is a football club with more than a century of history, a global supporter base and a place in the cultural identity of Manchester and English football. Yet supporters continue to witness financial pressures, sporting instability, structural uncertainty and decisions that raise legitimate questions about whether the long-term interests of the football club and its supporters are being given sufficient priority.

I do not believe these questions should be answered by social-media arguments or by supporters shouting at one another. They should be investigated properly, independently and through the appropriate legal and regulatory channels. That is why I have decided to take action.

MY OBJECTIVE

My intention is to build a Manchester United supporters' legal and regulatory campaign seeking an independent legal assessment of the club's ownership and financing structure.

The objective would be to engage specialist UK sports and corporate legal counsel to examine whether Manchester United's ownership and financing arrangements give rise to any grounds for regulatory intervention under the Football Governance Act 2025 and the Independent Football Regulator's regulatory framework, and, where appropriate, to submit a formal dossier to the IFR.

I am not claiming that any wrongdoing has already been established. I am asking for the questions to be independently examined by people qualified to answer them. That distinction is extremely important.

THE CAMPAIGN

My proposed campaign consists of four coordinated initiatives:

1A UK Government Petition — Manchester United Ownership & the 2005 Leveraged Buyout

A UK-resident petition calling on the Government to ensure that the legality and regulatory implications of Manchester United's 2005 leveraged acquisition are properly examined. The petition would seek an independent assessment of whether the ownership and financing structure gives rise to any grounds for regulatory intervention and, where legally justified, whether the owners should be required to sell their interests.

2A Global Supporters' Petition to Sheikh Jassim

A separate worldwide supporters' petition calling on Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani to consider submitting a renewed proposal to acquire Manchester United. The objective would be to demonstrate the existence of a substantial worldwide supporter base interested in seeing a credible alternative ownership proposal.

The completed petition would be formally presented to Sheikh Jassim's representatives with media coverage.

3A Formal Legal & Regulatory Dossier to the Independent Football Regulator

This is perhaps the most important part of the campaign. I intend to seek the assistance of specialist UK sports and corporate solicitors to independently examine:

Manchester United's ownership structure;
the financing of the 2005 leveraged acquisition;
the club's current debt and financing arrangements;
the relationship between ownership and club-level financial obligations;
the club's financial sustainability;
governance and ownership requirements under the Football Governance Act 2025;
the applicable Independent Football Regulator framework; and
whether any grounds exist for regulatory intervention.

Subject to legal advice, the resulting evidence and legal analysis would be compiled into a formal dossier for submission to the IFR. This would not be a social-media campaign based on speculation. It would be an evidence-based legal and regulatory submission.

4Protect Manchester United From Further Highly Leveraged Stadium Financing

We also intend to engage Manchester MPs, other Members of Parliament and relevant authorities regarding the proposed new stadium. Manchester United's existing financial obligations consist of multiple categories and should be assessed carefully rather than treated as one single figure.

The concern is straightforward:

Should an already financially burdened football club take on substantial additional leverage to finance a new stadium? Our proposed campaign would therefore call for appropriate regulatory scrutiny of any proposal to place significant additional debt on Manchester United in connection with the stadium project. The objective would not be to prevent Manchester United from having a world-class stadium. It would be to prevent the financing of that stadium from creating an unsustainable additional burden on the football club.

WHY AM I DOING THIS?

I am an ordinary Manchester United supporter.

I am not a celebrity.
I am not a football journalist.
I am not a social-media influencer looking for followers, views or likes.
I do not represent a political organisation.

I am simply a supporter who has reached the point where I believe someone has to start asking the difficult questions through the proper channels.

My grandmother once told me: "Change starts with one small action."

I have never forgotten those words.

My intention is therefore very simple:

Do what I personally can and hopefully become the catalyst for something much bigger.

One petition can become thousands of signatures.
One supporter can become thousands of supporters.
One legal opinion can become a formal regulatory submission.
One group can become many groups working together.

And many supporters' organisations, fan groups and individuals acting together can create a coordinated campaign that cannot simply be ignored.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT ONE PERSON

I do not want this campaign to belong to me.

It belongs to Manchester United supporters.

If established supporters' groups, fan organisations, former players, journalists, lawyers, academics, community organisations and individual supporters believe these questions deserve proper examination, I want them involved.

I am asking for your support, advice, expertise, contacts and backing.

I would particularly welcome supporters' organisations that can help with:

petition promotion;
supporter mobilisation;
legal introductions;
research and evidence gathering;
communications;
parliamentary engagement;
fundraising for specialist legal advice;
connections with Manchester communities; and
coordination between existing supporter groups.

I am not asking anyone to blindly accept my conclusions. I am asking you to help establish the facts. If an independent legal assessment concludes that there are no grounds for intervention, supporters will at least have obtained an independent assessment. But if qualified legal and regulatory experts identify genuine grounds for action, then we should be prepared to pursue those avenues collectively.

ONE CLUB. ONE SUPPORTER BASE. ONE VOICE.

We have spent years arguing amongst ourselves about owners, managers, players and executives. Meanwhile, the club continues to change around us.

Perhaps it is time for supporters to put aside differences and concentrate on one common principle:

Manchester United must be protected for future generations.

I believe the time has come for supporters to move beyond protest alone and towards evidence, law, regulation and coordinated action.

I am taking the first step.

I am asking you to consider taking it with me.

Not because I have all the answers.
Not because I claim to speak for every Manchester United supporter.

But because I believe our club deserves to have these questions properly investigated.

And because I believe that if we genuinely care about Manchester United, we cannot simply watch from the sidelines and hope somebody else will act.

Change starts with one small action.

This is mine.

I hope it will be the beginning of something much bigger.

Together, our voice is stronger.

Yours sincerely,

Antoine

A humble Manchester United supporter

UNITED WE STAND

Add your name to the worldwide supporters' petition.

🌍 Sign the Global Petition 🇬🇧 Sign the UK Government Petition

Both open on their own official pages — petition.parliament.uk and ipetitions.com.

Download the letter as a PDF

Supporters' groups & organisations

Offer your help

Can your group help with promotion, legal introductions, research, communications or coordination? Get in touch — every contribution strengthens one united voice.

🔴⚪⚫ UNITED WE STAND