Manchester United, the world's largest and wealthiest soccer club, has this week appointed Cazenove as its financial adviser in a move to stop a potential hostile bid.

The British club, which will play in tournaments in three US cities this summer, has faced bids in the past. In 1999, Rupert Murdoch's British Sky Broadcasting satellite television business bid £673 million sterling (€969.6 million) but the deal was blocked by regulators.

Manchester United has a huge global following, which has allowed it to exploit valuable media and merchandising opportunities and turn it into a multi-million pound enterprise.

Cazenove, London's most powerful broker, replaces HSBC. The appointment follows months of takeover talk fuelled by stake building in the club by individual investors, including Irish horseracing millionaires Mr JP McManus and Mr John Magnier, Mr Dermot Desmond, who controls Glasgow Celtic football club, and Mr Malcolm Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All have recently bought significant stakes in the club, with Mr Glazer holding 2.9 per cent. Mr Desmond has said he bought his stake for "investment purposes" only.

However, associates of Mr McManus and Mr Magnier said a takeover could "not be ruled out".

"These are people who understand the value of brands and media rights," said one person close to the pair. "Manchester United is purely an investment for them but if it ever turns into an opportunity whereby by controlling that investment they could make more money, then they would."

Another associate added: "If the shares went down to £1 there must come a time when either they or their advisers would say, 'come on, let's give this a go'. It would be wrong to say they'd never buy it." - (Financial Times Service)