A successful bid for Manchester United, the world's richest soccer club, would bring with it something potentially far more valuable than a squad of millionaires and its Theatre of Dreams stadium.
Whoever the unnamed suitor turns out to be - and US tycoon Malcolm Glazer is widely tipped - chances are he is hoping to buy into the enormous marketing potential of the Manchester United brand.
It's already huge, in soccer terms at least. Commercial revenues, including sponsorship deals, merchandising and museum and stadium tours raised £45 million (€65 million) for the club last season, making up over a quarter of total income.
If Glazer does land his quarry, he won't be short of ideas on how to get the most bang from the collective buck of star players such as Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Mr Glazer's Tampa Bay Buccaneers American football team, bought in 1995 for $192 million, was recently valued at $779 million, making it one of the most valuable sporting franchises in the world, but Nigel Currie, director of sports marketing group GEM, said Manchester United's potential could be far greater.
"They're woefully undervalued. If you take the names these guys (Glazer and other US marketers) have been involved with, they're big brands but they're extremely limited to one country.
"What has emerged in the past few years is the globalisation of soccer and the potential it has to deliver truly global brands and brand images," he said.
Manchester United has more fans in Asia - an estimated 17 million - than it does in Britain, and there are thought to be a further 12 million in the Americas.
And while there is plenty of mileage in selling shirts, mugs and key rings, there is even more potential in tie-ups with global marketers in telecoms, financial services and even cars.
Manchester United's portfolio of "partners" hoping to bask in the reflected glory of sporting success is growing. Audi recently signed a deal with the club, joining Nike, Vodafone and Pepsi, among others.
"With 450 million people watching the club on TV every week, they have to decide whether they're a global football club or a global brand," said Andy Milligan, the Interbrand consultant whose book Brand it like Beckham became a business bestseller.
One branding industry guru estimated the current value of the Manchester United brand at around £250 million.
In time its revenue generation potential would certainly dwarf the £650 million that Mr Glazer is thought to be offering - curiously, a level below the current market value of the club.
The legions of foreign players in England's top division brings new fans from abroad - Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Manchester United led to an upsurge in interest in the club among Portuguese fans.
"They're in a huge and burgeoning international market for sports leisure," Interbrand's Mr Milligan said.
"There are fashion items, credit cards, loans, and media craving content. It's very difficult to estimate how high Man U's commercial revenues could be in five years' time. They could easily double or triple."
