The Glazer family today denied fresh rumours of plans to sell Manchester United, at the same time the football club revealed its strong merchandise sales.

Discussions have never even taken place and Manchester United isn’t for sale – the owners aren’t entertaining any offers either, confirmed the publicly listed company.

New results showed that revenues of £156m, up 8% when measured against a year earlier, were achieved for the six months leading up to December. Commercial sales of £50m are up 30%, despite protestors making calls for a boycott on merchandise. Despite this though, success has not been enjoyed in every area as matchday turnover fell marginally, down at least 0.4% to £52.4m, according to preliminary financial results.

A campaign by many fans is seeking to discourage helping the club’s commercial offerings prosper in a protest at the Glazers’ current ownership. Rather than buy club merchandise, they have been sporting green and gold scarves or shirts – the colours worn by United’s predecessors, Newton Heath.

A report carried out by analysts Sport+Markt claimed that sales are down 10%, however the club claimed this is only true of the stadium megastore it has, reflecting the lower amount of home games that have been played thus far in this campaign.

While the movement might have had an impact on local supporters, results suggest that spending by the Red Devils’ mostly international fanbase has nonetheless risen steadily.