Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan admits he still regrets not pushing through the takeover of Manchester United in 1989.

"I should have done it, no question," he told the Daily Mail.

"I would have got a controlling interest in the biggest club in the world for £11m. I thought towns like London, Liverpool and Leeds wouldn't take kindly to me being involved with Manchester United and JJB Sports. I was probably wrong. OK, Liverpool people would have taken exception. So, you don't do a lot of business in Liverpool. But what a deal and what a buy.

"Michael Knighton was at the table when Martin offered it to me and so was Bobby Charlton. He refused to talk to Knighton, full stop. Bob's view was that Knighton shouldn't even be at Old Trafford. He thought what he'd done was despicable.

"Knighton was absolutely full of himself. He had front, an awful lot of it. Why I don't know. He'd been on the pitch kicking the ball about and scoring a penalty. How much front have you got to do that?

"Then he said he couldn't get the money. I was seriously, seriously tempted."

It was then that Whelan had his vision for the red dome next to Old Trafford.

"I'd got plans to build a massive health and leisure club with a shop underneath and a big red dome on the top with lights coming out of it that signalled 'We are Man United'.

"I drew up those plans and Nike wanted to be the sponsors of it. Everybody would have been able to see it. It would have been fantastic as a landmark and changed United from what it is now to the Manchester United of the world."