A change of ownership appears the only realistic situation in which Woodward would be dislodged from his position, with rumours that a Saudi Arabian consortium could launch a takeover bid.
Although the prospect has largely been dismissed, football finance expert Kieran Maguire told Express Sport in November that certain members of the Glazer family would be open to selling their shares.
“Everything is available for a price,” he said. “My understanding is that Malcolm Glazer’s shares were split between his six children, of whom some – at least a couple – would be happy to get rid of Manchester United.
“They do not like the level of abuse that anyone with the Glazer name gets, they’re not interested in what they refer to as ‘soccer’, whereas a couple (Joel and Avram) of them are very, very keen; they have become United fans even though they don’t go to matches.