Gary Neville points finger at ‘what scares Man Utd fans most’ as ‘big charade’ masks Glazers real intentions

Gary Neville is worried that the Glazer family will not sell Manchester United completely but retain some sort of control of the club after new investment.

Having been in charge of Old Trafford since 2005, the Glazers recently hinted they would be prepared to sell the club. Never popular among the fans for the way they ran up debts, their possible departure was music to the ears of the United faithful. Friday’s deadline saw a Qatari consortium headed by Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group outline their bids.

It was later revealed that US hedge fund Elliott Management also tabled a proposal for a possible financing deal.

There is now concern that the Glazers will welcome investment rather than go through with the complete sale.

Neville believes that the current owners might be using the potential sale as a smokescreen to attract new investment.

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And he feels it’s a nightmare scenario as supporters felt they might finally be getting rid of the unpopular owners.

He told the Gary Neville Podcast: “I think what scares Man Utd fans most is the feeling this Man Utd ownership are running this process to drive a massive price up to try to somehow establish a level which means two of them can stay in and the rest of the family that want out can be bought out by an American fund who wouldn’t mind owning a minority or significant share but not the entirety of the share,” he said.

“That’s the biggest concern. The whole emphasis at this moment in time from Man Utd fans is this has to be the end of the Glazer ownership.”

Cloak and dagger operation irks Neville

The Glazers have freed up millions of pounds for managers to buy players during their tenure.

But Manchester United have not enjoyed any real success since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson a decade ago.

There has also been little investment in the infrastructure of the club, and Neville wants to see change.

“They’ve run out of money, they’ve not invested in the stadium. The fans want a new stadium, whether that’s Old Trafford refurbished or a new one rebuilt, we need new facilities.

“Man Utd’s stadium is behind a lot of the big [clubs] in Europe.

“The sporting project they’ve failed on in the last 10 years since Sir Alex Ferguson left.

“It’s doing quite well at the moment, third in the league but it’s not where Man Utd want to be.”

And the former United and England full-back doubts whether the Glazers have any real intention of selling up.

“I still think there is a focus that this isn’t one big charade that the Glazers are running to try to establish a value which would be for their brothers and sisters to exit and the couple that want to stay in to stay,” he continued.

“There’s a priority at this moment in time for them to go.”