Gary Neville has called on the Glazers to sell Manchester United ‘with some speed’ and says they are to blame for ‘the culture of greed, ill-discipline, indecision and uncertainty that runs right through the club’ in another evisceration of their ownership.
Boos rang around Old Trafford, along with Glazers Out chants, as Brighton tore a hapless United apart in a 3-1 win on Saturday.
United had £73million Jadon Sancho watching the Under-18s at Carrington as he is exiled from the first team; Antony is back in Brazil on paid leave to fight allegations, which he denies, that he assaulted three women; and now it was four straight league defeats against Brighton.
But issues at United start and end with the Glazers for Neville and with it now 10 months on from news the Glazers were open to selling and still no resolution in sight, the former United right back has again let rip.
‘The Glazers are responsible. It’s how it works,’ he tweeted. ‘You own a business and everything good and bad sits with you!
Gary Neville has placed the blame for Man United’s 3-1 defeat to Brighton at the door of the club’s ownership
There has been long-term distress over the Glazers’ ownership in Manchester, which has not been helped by stagnation over a potential sale
‘They inherited the best in all areas. They’ve overseen 10 years of mediocrity off the pitch and on the pitch.
‘They set the culture of greed, ill-discipline, indecision and uncertainty that runs right through the club.
‘It would be best if they sold the club with some speed and efficiency and allowed at least the off the pitch items to be corrected properly that re-set the tone and culture.’
He added: ‘Football is volatile so results on the pitch can be erratic and cyclical but if the off the pitch stuff including the owners’ direction and leadership are spot on it gives you a better chance to succeed on it.’
Bids at £5billion remain on the table from Sheikh Jassim, of Qatar, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, but no decision seems forthcoming after months of negotiations with the Raine Group, who have handled the process.
Neville has been a long-standing critic of the unpopular Glazers and it will not have been lost on him when a new banner emerged in the Stretford End before kick-off which read: ‘History dignity integrity – you stole it all.’
Fans also levelled their ire at Ten Hag for his early substitution of new signing Rasmus Hojlund
A banner at the ground directed at the owners read: ‘‘History dignity integrity – you stole it all’
The Americans are believed to be considering waiting until 2025 for a sale, when they claim they can get up to £10bn for the club, but in the meantime a toxicity is engulfing the club, not helped by results on the pitch too.
Brighton have had their way with United in the past few seasons, winning at Old Trafford in Erik ten Hag’s first game last season before repeating the trick here with goals from Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro. There were mere muted cheers when Hannibal Mejbri scored a consolation for United.
‘I’ve just got back from Old Trafford and you always have to be optimistic pre-match but the most concerning thing is what we ended up watching wasn’t a surprise,’ Neville tweeted.
‘This wasn’t a lack of effort or a group of players not interested. This was a team well-beaten by opponents that were well drilled and knew what they were doing. Simple as that…’
