Manchester United shares surged just over 10 percent today amid reports of bid interest for the English Premiership champions, a week after premier league rivals Chelsea were bought by a Russian billionaire.
Manchester United shares were up 15 pence at 160 pence in late afternoon trade, close to a 12-month high.
Former Football League chairman Keith Harris is considering bidding for the club, although any bid is unlikely to come this year, a source close to the matter said at the weekend.
His interest in United comes amid speculation that JP McManus and John Magnier, the Irish horseracing tycoons, were preparing to offload their 10 percent stake in the club.
The Expressnewspaper also reported today that another unnamed Russian multi-billionaire was examining a bid for United - hot on the heels of last week's takeover of Chelsea by Russian businessman Roman Abramovich.
But soccer analyst Vinay Bedi of London stockbrokers Brewin Dolphin said any bid would be complicated by United's complex cross shareholdings and the fact that the British government blocked a bid for the club by satellite broadcaster BSkyB in 1999 on competition grounds.
"Manchester United has long been a bid target, but any takeover may be some time away," said Bedi.
A number of high profile investors have bought stakes in United in recent months to spark takeover talk, including John de Mol, the Dutch media tycoon behind the Big Brother reality television series, and Malcolm Glazier, owner of Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers.