EVERYBODY suddenly wants a piece of billionaire Clive Palmer and his lavishly backed plaything Gold Coast United.
First it was players at home and aboard queuing to feed from the new A-League outfit's deep trough.
Now some of world football's top clubs are keen to pick Palmer's pockets by travelling to the Glitter Strip to take on his team.
Just a week after the Queensland Roar nailed down David Beckham's LA Galaxy for a December 11 showpiece, promoters pushing duels against the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Celtic have approached United.
And it's Celtic, whose asking price of $2 million is the most cost effective, who have jumped to the top of the queue with negotiations now under way aimed at bringing out Gordon Strachan's team, which includes Socceroo Scott McDonald, in early July to christen the club's Skilled Park stadium.
To play the game at a venue which holds just 27,000, United are seeking to enlist the support of Gold Coast Tourism and the Gold Coast City Council with a view to attracting expat Scots from NSW, Victoria and even New Zealand for the clash.
United's head coach Miron Bleiberg explained: "We're interested in playing them -- it would be a good way to make our entrance into Skilled Park -- but there's a lot of talking to be done yet. We need to see a business plan which might go along the lines of the model which first brought the LA Galaxy last year when they played Sydney FC.
"On that occasion the game had a host of sponsors and the FFA and Sydney FC made plenty of money (after an 80,000 sellout at ANZ Stadium)."
United turned their attention to the Celtic offer after a proposed glamour game against Sao Paulo was scrapped because the Brazilian giants refused to guarantee bringing out their full first team.
United were not willing to take anything but the best, especially after just 12,841 turned up to watch Frank Farina's Queensland Roar beat a third-string Palmeiras at Suncorp Stadium three months ago in an ill-conceived mis-match.
Celtic would be a different kettle of fish,with the 42-time Scottish champions backed by an army of fans in every continent.
The game, were it to go ahead, would come after United's whirlwind trip to China, where they will play their inaugural match at the Bird's Nest against Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan in late June.
