Sky Sports News pundit Gary Neville has warned that Manchester United fans will be scared that the Glazer family don’t end up entirely leaving amid recent takeover talks.
What’s the latest on the Glazer family and the Man Utd takeover?
Recently, it was reported that The US hedge fund Elliott Investment Management have put forward a proposal for possible financing to the Glazers if they opt not to sell the club.
Of course, Qatari-linked Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe have both tabled offers to take over instead as majority owners.
With plenty of interest, it remains to be seen as to how exactly it all plays out but Neville has stayed that this upcoming period has to spell the “end of the Glazer ownership” in order for the club to progress.
While talking on The Gary Neville Podcast, he explained: “I think what scares Manchester United fans most at this moment in time is the feeling that this Manchester United ownership, the Glazer family, are running this process to drive a massive price up to try and somehow establish a level that means that two of them can stay in, and the rest of the family that want out can be bought out, by, for instance, an American fund who they wouldn’t mind owning a minority or a sort of, if you like, significant share, but not the whole entirety of the share.
“That is the biggest concern, and the absolute emphasis at this moment in time from all of us United fans is that this has got to be the end of the Glazer ownership.
“They’ve run out of money. They’ve not invested in a stadium. The fans want a new stadium here, whether that’s this one [Old Trafford] refurbished or there’s a new one rebuilt. We need new facilities. Manchester United’s stadium is behind, well behind, a lot of the big clubs in Europe.”
What does the latest takeover news mean for Man Utd?
The Premier League club certainly haven’t been at their best in recent times under the Glazer ownership and have not won a league title since Sir Alex Ferguson departed after the 2012-13 season.
What’s more, club legend Cristiano Ronaldo recently slammed the family, stating that they “don’t care” and have let all the facilities fall below the standard of top European clubs because they don’t care about the sport and only about the marketing.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has bid for 69 per cent of United– which is as much as is currently owned by the Glazers – so the family would not be involved. While the Qatari bid would wipe out all the club’s debts and try to “restore” the Red Devils back to the top of European football.
With that in mind, it’s no wonder so many just like Neville are desperate for a clean break in ownership. It will be interesting to see how things play out in the coming weeks with takeover bids on the table but nothing yet confirmed one way or the other.