Premier League leaders United have repeatedly said the Old Trafford club was not for sale but its high-yield bonds rose to near record highs on Tuesday on speculation of a deal.
"Qatar Holding is not and has never been in discussions to buy Manchester United football club. There is no truth to the rumours," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The colours are those of the Newton Heath works team, United's predecessors, and those wearing them are disillusioned by what they see as exploitation of the club by foreign owners who have raised ticket prices and loaded United with debt.
Rooney ended up signing a five-year contract after saying he had been convinced to stay because "the management, coaching staff, board and owners are totally committed to making sure United maintains its proud winning history".
In January, United denied they had received an approach from Qatar Holding to buy the club and last week a spokeswoman said "The club is not for sale."
Manchester already has Arab owners in town as neighbouring City are owned by Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan who has made them the world's richest club and spent hundreds of millions of pounds on players.
The tiny Gulf Arab state of Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, in December won the right to host the 2022 World Cup finals.
