Gary Neville has claimed in a new interview that Manchester United would come under more scrutiny than Newcastle or Manchester City if the club were sold to Qatari bidder Sheikh Jassim.
The club, currently owned by the American Glazer family, was put up for sale in November, with the two frontrunners – Sheikh Jassim and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe – both bidding for a total takeover of Old Trafford in the region. of £5 billion.
However, the process has since stalled and Mail Sport reported in September that the Joel and Avram Glazer, who run the ownership, were on the verge of taking the club off the market.
This caused United’s shares to fall 21 percent as the New York Stock Exchange responded to the report, but neither Ratcliffe nor Sheikh Jassim were informed that the sale was falling through – although they have yet to provide any further update to belong.
Former Manchester United defender Neville has been outspoken and consistently critical of his old club’s ownership and was also firmly in discussions with the Spanish newspaper on Friday Marca.
Gary Neville discussed the possibility of Manchester United becoming a state club on Friday
His former side have struggled at the start of the 2023/24 season and the pundit has laid the lion’s share of the club’s decline at the feet of the current owners.
Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim is one of the two frontrunners if a takeover goes ahead
When asked about the biggest problem facing United, who currently sit ninth in the Premier League, Neville was quick to respond with the name ‘ownership’ and urged potential new owners to invest more heavily in the club to invest.
“The sales process continues,” Neville added. ‘We hope that the new owners will bring stability to the club over the next five to ten years, and that they will improve the sporting and non-sporting aspects.
‘In recent years the stadium has been allowed to deteriorate, just like the training field and the team. Manchester United must return to its sporting and non-sporting objectives: it must be at the top of European football, and at the moment it is still a long way from that point.
‘Last season was a springboard. I hope the new owners can establish the right culture at the club and do the right thing to get Erik ten Hag the money needed to get the club back to where it needs to be.”
The Dutch manager has spent almost £335m on transfers since his appointment in the summer of 2022 and had a huge transfer window ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Man United spent almost £168m on players including former Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana, Mason Mount who was lured from Chelsea for £60m and emerging striker Rasmus Hojlund.
However, its spending pales in comparison to that of Premier League rivals Chelsea, who have spent more than £1 billion since being taken over in May 2022 by co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
Neville also shared his views on the potential ownership of Qatari investment in the Premier League through Sheikh Jassim, revealing his belief that there would be greater scrutiny of United than rivals Man City, owned by Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group, and Newcastle . , whose 2021 takeover by Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF drew opposition from some human rights groups.
‘I am not against ‘state clubs’, Marcel continued. ‘I did not oppose Newcastle or Manchester City. I think United will be under more scrutiny because the size of the club is huge.
“The reality is that Abu Dhabi has owned Manchester City for 15 years, so I think the most important thing in English football is control over the owners, not just the ‘state clubs’, but also the venture capital funds that do that doing. go to the Premier League to exploit English football.
‘The Premier League is an incredible product: it’s loved around the world, it’s great to watch, the stadiums are of high quality… it’s miles ahead of the other leagues in terms of revenue.
Neville believes that Erik ten Hag needs more support during the transfer period
Anger over Glazer ownership has seen fans protest at Old Trafford this season
‘But it needs to maintain its competitive balance at national level and we also need competitive balance at international level in the other European competitions. I’m passionate about that. That’s why I spoke about the Super League the way I did.’
The Treble winner added: ‘It is not about the football clubs in our country being owned by the state, but about regulating all the types of ownership models that we now see in the Premier League.’
Lingering resentment over the Glazers’ time in charge of the Manchester club has led to an increasing number of protests, both at matches and abroad.
On Monday, supporters waved a “Glazers out” banner over Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, where the owners’ NFL team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was playing the Philadelphia Eagles.