Michael Knighton, who came close to buying Manchester United in the 1980s, claims to be planning an astonishing bid to buy out the Glazer family.
The American owners are under increasing pressure to sell the Old Trafford club following a disappointing sixth-place finish in last season's Premier League.
Fan groups have protested against their ownership at recent home matches with anti-Glazer chants filling the air.
But 70-year-old Knighton, who famously juggled a ball on the Old Trafford pitch in 1989, is apparently drawing up a bid to buy the Americans out in a hostile takeover.