Manchester United legend, Peter Schmeichel, has defended the club’s decision to set up a luxury lounge at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

The lounge, which is located near global software companies, consultancies and banks, has sparked speculation that it is being used to market the team to potential buyers.

Commenting on the club appearing at WEF, Schmeichel, who is acting as an ambassador for the club said that having a presence in a place like Davos is necessary for a brand as big as Manchester United.

“If you look at what we say about ourselves — we say that we are one of the biggest sporting brands in the world — then I think you have to back it up by having a presence in places like this,” Schmeichel said.

Club spokeswoman, Ellie Norman added that the lounge is a place to meet with existing and future corporate partners and sponsors.

She also said the club is currently in a strategic review process and shut down rumours that the decision to set up the lounge in Davos is connected to the possible sale of the club.

On the possible sale, Schmeichel said his personal preference would be for fans to buy it, however, he acknowledged that this outcome is unlikely due to its size.

Current owners of Manchester United, the Glazers, have been unpopular with supporters since their GBP£790 million (AUD$1.4 billion) leveraged takeover in 2005, which brought large debts to the club.

In November, the Glazers announced that they were exploring a potential sale of the club, before several reports suggested tech giants, Apple, were interested in a takeover worth GBP£5.8 billion (AUD$10.34 billion).