Gary Neville makes prediction on ‘unpopular’ outcome of Man Utd takeover process

Gary Neville has given a worrying update on Manchester United’s takeover process and has claimed the Glazers may have stalled on negotiations in recent weeks in order for the outcome to occur during the summer, therefore limiting the opportunity for fan protests.

The Glazers announced in November that they were considering a sale of the club and talks have been ongoing for months, with the final bids from Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe now being considered. The latter’s offer, it has been reported, offers Joel and Avram Glazer the opportunity of retaining a minority stake in the club, but the four remaining siblings would be bought out entirely.

United fans are desperate for the unpopular Glazer family to relinquish complete control and, while any form of buyout would be celebrated, the prospect of two siblings retaining shares would not be welcomed by supporters. Therefore, Neville is speculating that is the reason why the Glazers have delayed in recent weeks, despite the original deadline for final bids taking place over a month ago.

“Plainly obvious the Glazer family aren’t going to announce anything on the ownership until the season is closed!” Neville tweeted on Wednesday. “They’ve been spinning it out unprofessionally for weeks and months now.

“They know fan protests would have been more significant than they already have if matches were still being played and the end result of the sale process is unpopular. Basically any family members staying in would be deemed unacceptable by all fans. Is this why they’re holding off?”

Fan protests have taken place throughout the season, although they have become less frequent in the second half of the campaign as the takeover process has progressed. United fans infamously forced the postponement of a Premier League against Liverpool in May 2021 when supporters broke into Old Trafford ahead of the game and also blocked the team bus from leaving the hotel.

Meanwhile, recent reports have claimed that Racliffe and Ineos is the leading candidate to buy the club at this stage, with their bid valuing the club higher than the offer from Qatar. Ratcliffe’s proposal would reportedly see the two Glazer siblings retain minority shares that would eventually be bought in full over the coming years.