Sir Alex Ferguson may quit Manchester United when Malcolm Glazer takes control at Old Trafford, according to reports.

The Guardian claims that 'Sir Alex Ferguson will consult his family and closest friends before deciding whether to retire when.'

'The Scot is repulsed by the prospect of a takeover which will change the face of Manchester United forever, and may not be swayed by the US tycoon's attempts to forge a working relationship with him.'

The American tycoon took control of the Old Trafford club when he bought the 28.7% owned by JP McManus and John Magnier. It was reported on Thursday that Glazer had since increased his own stake further still to around 70%.

Both privately and publicly, Sir Alex has made clear his misgivings at the proposed takeover by Glazer.

So while 'Glazer has let it be known that he wants Ferguson to survive a cull that would see most of the current board forced out,' his arrival could prompt Fergie to walk away.

'Walking out would be a last resort but it is a definite possibility,' says the Guardian, but weighed against that is the impression that Fergie is not exactly the resigning type.

"I don't want to leave this club a loser," the Daily Telegraph claims he recently told David Meek, Ferguson's friend who also ghosts his programme notes.

The Telegraph reckons that 'all the indications are that Ferguson will attempt to ride out the storm and prepare United for a season that may prove to be his last under the old regime.'

Meanwhile, Harry Harris of the Daily Express has told BBC Radio Five Live: "Ferguson will be offered a long-term contract as part of a five-year plan. In that plan, he will be given £100m for new players."

The Independent, on the other hand, says 'the official Glazer position on Ferguson thus far is that nothing has been decided.'

'What could save the Scot is that 'cast in the position of a conquering new power, they would see a very public sacking of the club's most successful manager as a disastrous way of introducing themselves.'

Moreover, Glazer cares more about money then his popularity, and the most pertinent point regarding Ferguson is perhaps made by the Daily Telegraph: 'However, by removing him once the takeover is formally in place, in around six weeks' time, Glazer would succeed only in making a martyr of United's most successful manager, a move that would hardly increase the share price of a by now debt-laden club.'

The Daily Express and Guardian also claim that David Gill would remain at the club, despite publicly denouncing the Glazer bid.

However, the rest of Fleet Street isn't convinced. 'The future of the board, not least the chief executive David Gill, looks increasingly insecure,' says The Independent.

'Insiders in the Glazer camp are already indicating that directors who took an "over my dead body stance" towards Glazer will be especially vulnerable.'

'The plc chairman, Sir Roy Gardner, and the chief executive, David Gill, look vulnerable,' concurs the Daily Telegraph.

It’s generally agreed that one of Glazer’s first moves will be the culling of the plc board's three non-executive directors, Ian Much, Jim O'Neill and Gardner.

The Guardian adds that: 'The finance director Nick Humby is considered "vulnerable" and Glazer's eldest son Joel, who has been instrumental in the negotiations, has indicated that he wants an office at Old Trafford as well as a seat in the directors' box. Ferguson would then have to answer to him or "some other American hotshot", as one United employee put it.'

The future of Gill, though, may be instrumental in determining Ferguson's.

'Sweeping changes are inevitable,’ says the newspaper, 'but Ferguson will be relieved to hear that David Gill, the chief executive who has led a polite yet obstructive anti-Glazer campaign, will probably survive because the new owners want a degree of continuity. Ferguson gets on well with Gill and that may be influential in his decision.'