This Thursday promises to be a pivotal day in the modern history of Manchester United Football Club - and there won't even be a ball kicked.
While Erik ten Hag and his players gear up for Saturday's visit to Sheffield United - another fixture they simply cannot afford to slip up in - a board meeting will determine the future direction of the entire club.
The 12-strong board will decide whether or not to accept Sir Jim Ratcliffe's £1.4billion offer for a quarter share in United - and control of football operations at Old Trafford.
The petrochemicals billionaire, 70, appears to have won the race to invest in United after his main rival, Qatari Sheikh Jassim, withdrew from the race.
While the Qataris wanted to completely buy-out the Glazer family, who currently own United, Ratcliffe plans to take a 25 per cent stake as the first step in what is viewed as a staged buyout.
That is highly unlikely to appease those United supporters who want shut of the Glazers but Ratcliffe's involvement in the football side should give greater priority to success over profit.
The voting rules laid out in United's 'articles of association' say only a majority of votes is required from the board to green light Ratcliffe's investment.
In the event of a tie, the co-chairmen, who are Joel and Avram Glazer, will have the casting vote.
So who are the 12 board members who hold United's future in their hands?
AVRAM GLAZER - Executive co-chairman and director
The board is led by co-chairman Avram and Joel Glazer, who took control of the day-to-day running of United when their father Malcolm suffered a stroke in April 2006.
Avram, 62, is the more public-facing of the two siblings and was at Wembley when United's men's team played in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals last season. Likewise when the women's team contested the Women's FA Cup final there.
Visits to Old Trafford are rare but Avram was in the stands for the match against Brighton on the opening day of last season.
In 2021, Avram sold five million United shares with a value of over £70million, therefore reducing his share of voting rights to around 14 per cent.
He was involved in the failed 2021 attempt to break away from the Premier League and join a new European Super League, which led to fan protests.
JOEL GLAZER - Executive co-chairman and director
Joel has the largest stake in United of any of the six Glazer siblings at 19 per cent. He is also the most deeply involved in decision-making and has the sign-off on major decisions.
The 56-year-old has made occasional visits to England to watch United games but not as recently as Avram.
Alongside brothers Bryan and Edward, he is a chairman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL team, the club father Malcolm bought in 1995.
KEVIN GLAZER - Director
The 56-year-old is the founder and chairman of Glazer Properties, who own commercial real estate across the United States.
Their website describes Glazer Properties as 'an industry leader in the ownership, acquisition, management and leasing of premier commercial real estate throughout the United States' including 'retail shopping centres, office and apartment buildings.'
In 2021, Kevin and Edward Glazer sold a combined 9.5 million shares in United, which reduced the family's holding in the club to 69 per cent.
BRYAN GLAZER - Director
Bryan, 58, is far more involved with the running of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, serving as their co-chairman and also on the NFL's Digital Media Committee.
He was heavily involved in the design and construction of the Bucs' home, the Raymond James Stadium, which opened in 1998.
Served as a director of the Zapata Corporation, which held various investments in natural gas, protein products and websites during the Dotcom boom of the late 1990s.
DARCIE GLAZER KASSEWITZ - Director
President of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers foundation, which runs many community programmes.
Her biography on the franchise's website says she 'has been the driving force behind many of the Buccaneers' innovative, forward-thinking fan engagement'.
EDWARD GLAZER - Director
The youngest of the six Glazer siblings, Edward is also an owner and co-chairman of the Bucs.
His profile on their website boasts how the Bucs ranked No 1 for customer satisfaction among the 32 NFL franchises in 2022 - for the ninth time in 11 years.
He is also the founder and CEO of the US Property Trust and US Auto Trust, which own real estate holdings and car dealerships across the US.
RICHARD ARNOLD - Chief executive officer and director
A well-known figure to United fans, Arnold replaced Ed Woodward as the club's most senior executive last year, moving up from commercial director.
A former specialist in telecommunications and media at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and elsewhere, Arnold joined United in 2007 as group commercial director.
He assumed control of the club's business operations when Woodward replaced David Gill in 2013.
While he has overseen immensely lucrative global sponsorship deals which have boosted the club's coffers, this has come against the backdrop of a decade of decline on the pitch.
Last year, Arnold met a group of disgruntled United fans in a pub after they'd planned to protest outside his Cheshire home amid unrest at the Glazers' ownership. The conversations were recorded and subsequently leaked.
CLIFF BATY - Chief financial officer and director
Baty's responsibility is for United's financial reports and he is usually on the club's quarterly conference calls when the latest figures are released.
He joined the club in March 2016 and was appointed to the board in December 2017, having previously worked in the gambling industry for Ladbrokes and Sportech PLC.
PATRICK STEWART - Chief legal officer/General Counsel and director
Stewart has been at the club since 2006 and heads their legal department. He has been an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland since 2018 having been nominated by the influential European Club Association.
Before joining United, Stewart worked at TEAM Marketing, who sold the commercial rights to the Champions League.
ROBERT LEITAO - Independent director
One of three independent directors, who are responsible for representing the minority shareholders in United.
Leitao is a managing partner at prominent bank Rothschild and has worked for three decades as a senior Mergers & Acquisitions banker and capital markets expert.
MANU SAWHNEY - Independent director
Sawhney formerly served as the CEO of the International Cricket Council (ICC), which runs the sport's major tournaments such as the T20 and 50-over World Cups.
Before that he worked for Asian broadcasting giant ESPN Star Sports.
He left the ICC under a cloud after allegations of 'bullying' and 'abrasive behaviour' after PwC conducted a review of the workplace culture at cricket's governing body. Sawhney described the review as a 'premeditated witch hunt'.
JOHN HOOKS - Independent director
Hooks is a prominent figure in the luxury fashion world having worked as deputy chairman at Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren's group president for Europe and the Middle East.
He was appointed CEO of Pacific Global Management in 2015 and serves on the board of Miroglio Fashion.
