Gary Neville has torn into his former club Manchester United for unveiling new part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe on Chrismas Eve. Reflecting on the calendar year, Neville also branded the Red Devils a ‘disgrace’ before extending well-wishes to Sir Jim on his new venture.
United confirmed on Sunday that the INEOS owner has agreed to purchase 25 per cent of the club. The announcement draws a line under 13 months of intense negotiations and fierce competition to strike a deal with the Glazers behind the scenes.
The Red Devils’ wildly unpopular American owners will remain majority shareholders while effectively handing the football operation over to Sir Jim and his team. But Neville wasn’t best pleased with how the news was announced.
“Manchester United [in] 2023 has been a disgrace to the end,” he posted on X. “The timing of this is truly awful and no functioning organisation would even think about it. Anyway all the very best to Jim Ratcliffe and I hope he can somehow work out a way to get the club right again and back to being something respectable on and off the pitch.”
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive Man Utd news.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
Sir Jim, a boyhood United fan, already has experience in the field, with INEOS owning French outfit OGC Nice since 2019. It could take eight weeks for the Premier League to ratify the ownership reshuffle at Old Trafford, meaning the new part-owners will not be in place during the January transfer window.
It remains to be seen how the Glazers’ step back affects manager Erik ten Hag, who has overseen a turbulent season involving friction off the pitch and inconsistent results on it. United are currently eighth in the Premier League and eight points off the top four.
“This will include all aspects of the men’s and women’s football operations and Academies, alongside two seats on the Manchester United PLC board and the Manchester United Football Club boards.
“The joint ambition is to create a world-class football operation building on the Club’s many existing strengths, including the successful off-pitch performance that it continues to enjoy.”