Beckham admits United ownership 'would mean the world' as Scholes backs £5bn consortium bid

David Beckham has refused to rule out a return to Manchester United in an ownership capacity, saying any involvement with his boyhood club would ‘mean the world’ to him — comments that have gained fresh relevance as former team-mates and peers line up to back the idea.

The 51-year-old was linked in 2025 with a UAE-based consortium that was exploring a reported £5bn takeover of United. Although no formal bid was launched, Beckham was said to have been approached about serving as an ambassador for the proposed deal. He has previously been critical of the Glazer family’s stewardship of the club, publicly calling for change before Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a minority stake in 2024.

“I have a lot going on here at the moment and my focus has purely been on Miami and everything that goes on in my business,” Beckham said in 2023. “But I haven’t been approached and I suppose any involvement with Manchester United would mean the world to me, going forward. But who knows? We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks or months.”

Beckham’s credentials as an owner have been bolstered by his success at Inter Miami, the MLS club he co-founded in 2018. The Florida franchise has since moved into a new stadium and attracted a roster of global names including Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, and former United midfielder Casemiro.

His former Old Trafford team-mate Paul Scholes offered a characteristically measured endorsement on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast. “I don’t see why not,” Scholes said. “If they’ve got the wealth to do it, he can if he wants to do it, more importantly. Then, knowing David as we do, he’d probably just sit in the background anyway.”

Ex-Liverpool striker Djibril Cissé was more effusive in his support. “Could David Beckham replace the Glazers and INEOS at Manchester United? Why not?” Cissé said. “He’s doing a good job at Inter Miami. He has an aura, he has a name, he’s David Beckham, and he carries real weight in world football.”

Whether INEOS, which holds a minority stake under Ratcliffe, would consider offloading its share remains unclear. For now, Beckham has kept his public position deliberately open, suggesting he would simply return to the terraces as a supporter if no ownership role materialised — though his words in 2023 left little doubt about where his ambitions lie.