The Manchester United director Michael Edelson believes the club's American owners will sell the club eventually but that it will be a "long way down the line".
The Premier League leaders have faced mounting speculation about their future ownership since the Glazer family last month cleared around £220m of high-interest debt used to fund their leveraged 2005 takeover. The owners have not announced where the funds came from, although they said no cash has been drawn from the club.
Reports in Britain and the Gulf over the last week suggested Qatar Holdings is preparing a bid for the club, but the 18-times English champions say they have not had an approach and the club is not for sale. The Glazers have in the past rebuffed a £1.5bn offer from an unnamed Qatari group and said in May they "will not entertain any offers" for the club.
But Edelson, who has been on United's board since 1982, said today: "It is inevitable that at some time they will sell ... but that will be a long way down the line."
Fan protests against the Glazers have mounted this year since the club's financial predicament was revealed in a bond prospectus sent to investors in January. The £504m bond means that even by repaying £220m of loans last month, the club is not in the debt-free state it was in before the Glazers' leveraged takeover.
In October, United posted a net loss of £83.6m for the year ending 30 June after costs associated with the huge debts wiped out record revenues of £286.4m. Forbes magazine has estimated that United is worth $1.8bn – making it the most valuable football club for the sixth straight year.
A group of financiers calling themselves the Red Knights joined forces with the Manchester United Supporters' Trust earlier this year in an attempt to put together a bid to buy out the Glazers. That prompted the owners to stress in May that they are committed to "the long-term ownership of the club".
