Former Manchester United chief David Gill believes the club's financial power will continue to grow.

Gill's exit from United's seat of power has been welcomed by those fans who will never forgive him for the U-turn that solidified the Glazer family's power base after he had initially opposed their controversial takeover in 2005.

The merits of that event are still debated by some, particularly a figure estimated at £680million that has been paid out in various costs to facilitate the highly-leveraged buy-out and subsequent refinancing deals.

Recently released annual results confirmed the club is now moving forward strongly and Gill is not expecting that work to stop.

"Football has done very well over the last five years," he said.

"Within that, Manchester United is a very well-organised club and I have no doubt Ed and his team will take it on to new heights.

"The owners came in, saw the opportunities and possibilities and were prepared to invest in it, either through staffing in London, setting up an office in Hong Kong or a future office in America. All that hard work is now paying off."