Manchester United bidder Thomas Zilliacus admits he wants to involve the fans in his takeover offer.

Zilliacus admits that his fan-share ownership model is a novel idea for English football. He pointed out that most Scandinavian clubs require at least 51 per cent ownership from fans to prevent one owner from taking full control.

Asked on whether this system could work in England, Zilliacus told the Manchester Evening News: “The club is nothing without the fans, the fans are the club.

“My understanding is, based on public information as I haven't been privy to detailed information yet, that the current owners [the Glazers] have not been very popular with the fans exactly for the reason - that they have not been involving the fans in the ways fans were expecting.

“If that is true, to me, that is a major issue that needs to be changed."