Will the mood of the fans change if, as expected, Sir Jim Ratcliffe becomes a minority shareholder?

BBC economics editor and Manchester United fan Faisal Islam, speaking to the BBC's How To Buy A Football Club podcast, said: "It's a classic case of glass half-full or glass half-empty.

"For those who wanted football on 'cheat mode' with limitless funds, there's a section that's going to be disappointed, even though there was some baggage there.

"For those who could not have foreseen that the Glazers might go in any way, shape or form, handing over sporting control to someone else is a step - somewhere between a small step and a large step depending on how that control is affected.

"My general sense is if Ratcliffe is good enough at doing the communications around this change of control and his vision and is convincing enough, they won't kill the protests about the Glazers but he'll get a fair run at making some big calls."