Glazer 'gains 75% Man Utd stake'
Malcolm Glazer has secured a 75% share in Manchester United, enabling him to take charge of the club, the Reuters news agency has reported.
Reuters quotes a source close to the matter saying that the billionaire US sports tycoon has now purchased the additional shares he needed.
Reaching the 75% figure would enable Mr Glazer to take Manchester United private and delist its shares.
Man Utd fans have promised to continue to oppose his takeover of the club.
"We're through 75%," the source told Reuters.
Television rights
Although no formal announcement was made that Mr Glazer has gone over the 75% figure, a large block of 1.2 million shares changed hands within 90 minutes of the stock exchange opening in London.
Glazer's US empire
If Mr Glazer was the buyer this would be enough to take him over the 75% mark. At that level of shareholding, as well as delisting, he would be able to transfer a large amount of debt onto the club's books.
With a 75% stake, Mr Glazer would also leave the holders of the remaining stock with next to no power.
Short of receiving copies of the company's accounts and the right to attend annual meetings, their shares will affectively be worthless, as Mr Glazer would be unlikely to pay them dividend payments.
And if Mr Glazer can get 90% of the remaining shares block that are left, he would then be able to make a compulsory purchase to buy up the final 10% slice.
Premier League chief Richard Scudamore has played down suggestions that Mr Glazer may now try to break out of a collective TV deal to start raising more cash at Man Utd.
Mr Scudamore said it would be "almost impossible" for Mr Glazer to achieve.
'Pandemonium'
Meanwhile United fans angry at the takeover have threatened to stage more protests at Saturday's FA Cup final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Shareholders United vice-chairman Oliver Houston told the Observer there was "an appetite for creating pure pandemonium".
"Two people running on the pitch caused problems when Liverpool played Chelsea recently, so imagine what will happen if there are hundreds of people on the pitch in Cardiff," he said.
Demonstrations at the club's game at Southampton on Sunday were not on the scale expected, but some fans displayed banners.
There were three arrests and one black banner read "you were my life, goodbye Manchester United football club, RIP".
Anti-Glazer chants were also heard at the game, which was overshadowed by the home team's relegation from the Premiership.
Debt worry
Supporters say the club, which became a plc in 1991, will be saddled with huge debts because of the way the takeover has been financed.
Some pundits believe Mr Glazer will start to look into the Premier League's TV bargaining arrangement, which is due for renewal, in an effort to increase the club's profitability.
The clubs currently makes about £50m a year from the collective agreement, but that could increase if they were allowed to negotiate independently.
To make a change, Mr Glazer would need another 13 clubs to side with him on the issue.
Mr Scudamore told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme: "The Premier League is blessed with a very conservative constitution. Fourteen clubs out of 20 need to vote to do anything.
"So it is almost impossible, and we have seen it in the past, for a small group of clubs to come along and achieve an alteration to what has been a very successful formula, both in terms of the way we do the TV deals and also the way we distribute the money."
Campaign group Shareholders United has urged supporters to stop buying club merchandise and the products of sponsors, such as Vodafone, Nike, Anheuser-Busch and Audi, if the club changes hands on Monday.
The group said its membership had increased to 30,000 from 20,000 in the last few days.
Mr Glazer's son Joel is expected to take an active role in running the club and claims his family are "avid" Manchester United fans.
He has said they intended to work with the current management, players and fans.
. Or the fans invading the pitch and just like sitting there or ripping apart the turf, so that they game would be cancelled or something and then Glazer would have to pay for the damages 
Silvestre isnt good enough and i feel more reliable when Brown plays in the middle of the backline with Rio.
