Paul Scholes wants his old team-mate running the show at Old Trafford.

Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Football alongside former United midfielder Nicky Butt and host Paddy McGuinness, Scholes endorsed David Beckham as the face of any consortium bid to buy the club out of its current ownership structure.

“I don’t see why not. If they’ve got the wealth to do it, he wants to do it, more importantly,” Scholes said on the podcast.

Scholes added that Beckham, who already owns Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, would probably stay in the background rather than present himself at matches in a day-to-day role.

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Butt was less convinced the sums add up.

“The biggest problem you’ve got is the Glazers will want a piece of the pie, and they’re valuing it, correct me if I’m wrong, at about 8 billion now,” Butt told the podcast.

He also pushed back on whether the club is genuinely worth that figure right now, pointing to the absence of Champions League football next season and the knock-on effect on commercial income and player valuations.

Scholes: regime has not worked

Scholes left no doubt about his view of the current regime, which pairs the Glazer family’s majority ownership since 2005 with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS stake, raised at the end of 2024 to roughly 29%.

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He told the podcast that the current ownership set-up has not worked, acknowledging that Ratcliffe has only been involved for about two and a half years, and said he would be open to anyone taking over given the mood among supporters toward the Glazer family.

A UAE approach on the table

The Beckham conversation is not pure invention. In October 2025, reports linked to the Daily Express said an unnamed UAE-based consortium had approached the former England captain about becoming the public face of a bid, with a stake in the club and an ambassadorial role on offer.

Beckham was reportedly the consortium’s preferred choice ahead of fellow former United names Eric Cantona and Wayne Rooney. No formal bid for Manchester United has been announced by Beckham or any consortium.

United 17th and winless at Old Trafford

The timing is awkward for the owners. Manchester United sit 17th in the Premier League after nine matches on seven points, with one win, four draws and four defeats and a goal difference of minus five.

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Manager Michael Carrick is expected to stay in charge at least until the international break after the 2-0 defeat at Chelsea last weekend. The next Premier League fixture is at home to Aston Villa on Sunday 8 November.

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