As UK Premier League football becomes awash with excessive pay and debt-fuelled takeovers, it is perhaps unsurprising that Manchester United has decided to appoint a former M&A banker as its next chief executive.

The football club, which sits top of the Premier League, yesterday said in a statement that Edward Woodward, a former M&A banker at JP Morgan, will take on a new role as its next chief executive. The club said that 40-year-old Woodward, executive vice chairman, will replace David Gill in the position from July 1.