PERHAPS WATKINS IS TO GET A GRILLING AFTER SELLING HIS SHARES

Last updated : 02 May 2004 By Editor

From The Sunday Mirror:

Manchester United solicitor Maurice Watkins will be asked to explain his motives by fellow Old Trafford directors after it emerged he sold a £2.5m stake in the club to American Malcolm Glazer.

Watkins, who put a million shares on the market through brokers Merrill Lynch last week, is a member of United's plc and football club boards.

It is understood other board members were shocked to discover a quarter of the four million shares bought by Glazer came from his holding.

Chief executive David Gill is looking for investors willing to spend big to keep United out of the hands of a single shareholder.

Watkins is likely to insist he put his shares on the open market and had no idea Glazer would buy them. But an insider revealed: "The fact he decided to sell at this time hasn't been greeted well given the current climate."