Manchester United officials were in discussions with Central Coast Mariners owner Mike Charlesworth, who has been seeking a buyer for the cash-strapped club for the past year.

Manchester United is reported to be interested in joining its English Premier League city rival and become a team owner Down Under in the A-League, although the chief executive of the Australian club is calling it “nothing more than speculation.”

Nine said the English club would likely move the team now based at Gosford, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of Sydney, to Sydney’s northern beaches. Matches would be played at either North Sydney Oval or Brookvale Oval in harbor-side Manly, the report says.

But Mariners chief executive Shaun Mielekamp says the Manchester United link is speculative.

“The chairman has held discussions with a number of clubs and interested parties across a number of years regarding the sale of the club,” Mielekamp said. “And it’s important, like in the pre-season, none of this distracts anyone at the club. It is just noise.”