Gary Neville has urged Manchester United owners, the Glazer family, to sell the club. Neville has called upon the American proprietors to step aside as custodians at Old Trafford following '14 years of failure'.
ESPN reported this week that a decision regarding United's sale might be taken once the new stadium reaches completion or should Manchester City face expulsion from the Premier League. The same report indicated that the Glazers have become exasperated by Ineos' decision-making both on and off the field.
Pressure Mounts on United Hierarchy
Pressure is intensifying on the owners and the footballing hierarchy at United as Michael Carrick comes under increasing scrutiny. The 45-year-old appeared destined for dismissal following United's 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth. Yet he will stay in the dugout for Saturday's away fixture against Chelsea (12.30pm kick-off), despite speculation linking Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann as possible replacements.
Neville said on The Overlap: "The Glazers have to sell. They have to sell now. The time has come. They've subcontracted the football department out to Ineos.
"Ineos are trying to run the football department and have had three years of struggling and failing and now it looks like they're struggling again. The Glazer family are over there in America, in Tampa, where they're very popular and go to every game apparently, I hear. They've hardly been to Old Trafford in 20-odd years.
"They have to sell now, enough is enough. The club is in debt, you've not spent a penny on the stadium, you're trying to borrow £2bn for a stadium that you don't know how you're going to borrow."
"There's basically failure of 13 or 14 years in the football side. You've subbed it out to somebody else which is just ridiculous and not taken responsibility. But they're not making millions anymore. Up until three years ago they were taking dividends out. But now enough is enough. They have to sell the whole club."
Roy Keane's Telling Response
However former United midfielder Roy Keane expressed doubt that the disgruntlement towards the owners affects the businessmen. He said: "They're business people though Gary. Who owns Valencia? (Peter Lim). When was the last time he was at Valencia, truthfully? Yeah, but him? They keep hold of these things because they're business people."
"It's an asset. If you tell the Glazers all United fans hate them, will they worry about that? They're sitting by the pool in their Speedos! I wouldn't be worried if people are upset with me."
In February, financial data emerged confirming the club's debt stands close to £1.3billion. Last month, the club announced record revenues of £677.6 million, representing a 1.7 per cent increase, yet reported losses of £43million.
Financial Woes and Ineos Criticism
Sir Jim Ratcliffe confronts mounting pressure following his inability to arrest United's deterioration after acquiring a minority stake in the 20-time Premier League champions. Meanwhile, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox have attracted criticism after assuming control of United's footballing operations yet failing to establish a lasting impact at the club as their difficulties persist.
In ESPN's report, it was suggested that the Glazers have grown increasingly dissatisfied with the club's trajectory since minority control was transferred to Ratcliffe and his Ineos operation.
