A Manchester United director said Tuesday that the American owners eventually will sell the club but that day is a ''long way down the line.''
The Premier League leader has faced mounting speculation about its future ownership since the Glazer family last month repaid around $342 million of high-interest debt used to fund their leveraged takeover in 2005.
The owners haven't said where the money came from, although they have said no cash has been drawn from the club.
Reports in Britain and the Persian Gulf over the last week have suggested Qatar Holdings is preparing a bid for the club, but the 18-time English champions say they have not beeb approached and the club is not for sale.
The Glazers, who also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have in the past rebuffed a $2.2 billion offer from an unnamed Qatari group and stressed in May that they ''will not entertain any offers'' for the club.
But United director Michael Edelson, who has been on United's board since 1982, told The Associated Press on Tuesday: ''It is inevitable that at some time they will sell ... but that will be a long way down the line.''
Fan protests against the Glazers have mounted throughout 2010 since the club's financial predicament was revealed in a bond prospectus sent to investors in January.
Even after repaying the loans last month, the club is not in the debt-free state it was in before the Glazers' took over.
In October, United posted a net loss of $130 million for the year ending June 30 with the cost of its debt service wiping out record revenues of $443 million.
Forbes magazine has estimated that United is worth $1.8 billion - making it the most valuable soccer team for the sixth straight year.
A group of financiers calling themselves the Red Knights joined forces with the Manchester United Supporters' Trust earlier this year in an attempt to put together a bid to buy out the Glazers. That prompted the owners to stress in May that they are committed to ''the long-term ownership of the club.''
