LONDON - Nearly a year after Manchester United opened the doors to outside investment, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe looks set to buy a 25 percent stake in the English Premier League club.
A proposed deal worth a reported £1.3-billion is expected to be ratified at a United board meeting on Thursday.
But the fact that the Glazer family will remain in control of the club comes as a bitter disappointment for most fans, who were desperate to see the back of the unpopular Americans.
"It would be wildly optimistic to think the Glazers are acting in the interests of supporters or are making ownership decisions which don't centre on their own priorities," the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) said in a statement this week.
United's fortunes on and off the field have suffered since the Glazers took charge at Old Trafford in a leveraged takeover in 2005 for £790-million.
The brilliance of former manager Alex Ferguson kept the Red Devils at the top of the English and European game during the early years of the Glazer reign.
However, United have not won the Premier League since Ferguson retired in 2013 and last lifted the Champions League back in 2008.
A miserable start to this season has left Erik ten Hag's men 10th in the Premier League and at risk of an embarrassing early Champions League exit after losing their opening two group games for the first time.
Ratcliffe, founder of petrochemicals giant INEOS, will reportedly seek to take control of the club's football operations in return for his sizeable investment.
But many question how a minority owner can have the sway in practice to control the core operation of a business.
"How does a minority shareholder stop cultural decline across a whole organisation if the people who have overseen this decline still have a majority shareholding?" Gary Neville, a former United captain turned pundit and businessman, asked on social media.
Moreover, it is unclear where the proceeds from Ratcliffe's investment will go.
Figures from March showed the club's debt has spiralled to £970-million.
But funds are also required for a long-awaited upgrade of the club's stadium.