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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
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George Smith

Every word of Gary Neville's explosive rant about the Glazers after Man United's Brentford loss

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville produced an explosive rant about the Glazer family's ownership of the club following the Reds' 4-0 hammering at Brentford on Saturday evening.

After being beaten 2-1 by Brighton at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season last weekend, United smashed into a new low at the Gtech Community Stadium, finding themselves four goals down by half-time for the first time ever in a Premier League away fixture. David de Gea was guilty of committing two costly errors for the Bees' opening two goals, allowing Josh Dasilva and Mathias Jensen to score.

The Bees doubled their tally thanks to further goals from Ben Mee, who bundled the ball home from a corner, and Bryan Mbeumo, who finished off an excellent counter-attack. It left United rooted at the bottom of the Premier League table.

READ MORE: Manchester United player ratings vs Brentford

Although the players must take a long look in the mirror at themselves for another disgraceful defeat, Neville, who was commentating on the game for Sky Sports , took aim at the Glazer family for their ownership of the club in his post-match debrief. His assessment was so damning that it even turned slightly heated with fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp, as the duo argued and debated.

Here, MEN Sport brings you a full transcript of every word Neville had to say in a scathing seven-and-a-half-minute rant:

Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: "We are continually saying the same things about the same people. However, I can't believe that Ralf Rangnick said they were going to need open-heart surgery. He was the guy that was going to come in and direct this club moving forward beyond his coaching role.

"They have obviously not listened to him, or have got a complete inability to bring players into the club - and that's the problem now. Manchester United, in the past, over the last 10 years, have always answered the fans' anger through money and spending it in the transfer market. The problem is now, nobody wants to take the money - and that is the issue.

"Nobody wants to take the money. They can't spend the money and that is a big problem. As I said at half-time if you are a player watching that performance in the first half, what are you thinking about coming to this club? It is a great football club. It is a magic football club. It has been the biggest thing in my life and I could not be more proud to support the club.

"But at this moment in time, it is really, really desperate. There is no leadership, there is no voice. You can't blame an individual player or the manager; you have got to look above and look to the very top now.

The Glazers are under increasing pressure to sell Manchester United. (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images.)

"This week, honestly, they are going to get peppered, those players, the coach, the sporting department and the new CEO. But there is a family over there in America that is literally letting their employees take all the hits for them and that is unforgivable.

"Joel Glazer's got to get on a plane tomorrow, get over to Manchester and he has got to start and divert the issues away from the club, and tell everyone what the hell his plan is for the football club. What is he doing?

"How many times are we going to sit here and say that the players lack leadership and personality? These players have proven that they cannot handle it, so they needed to have a good transfer market. They have not had a good transfer market.

"When a business is failing and it's not performing, it is the owners of that business [who are to blame]. It is really simple. It is failing miserably. They took about £24million out of the club two months ago and they have now got a decrepit, rotting stadium, which is, to be fair, second-rate, when it used to be the best in the world 15-20 years ago. You have got a football club where they haven't got a clue. They have bankers in charge of the football club, not making football decisions. They have not appointed a sporting director.

"We can look at the players all you like, but there are that many big things that need to be put right first, they have got to show up and basically face the music. Now is the time. They can't keep hiding in Tampa and thinking that nothing is going to come back to them."

Redknapp then interrupted Neville's flow and questioned why his colleague was reluctant to see United appoint Antonio Conte as manager almost a year ago. Although the former Reds defender didn't respond to that particular point, he did point out how Redknapp used to criticise Tottenham Hotspur owner Daniel Levy, as Redknapp believed that Neville should have put more blame on the players.

Jamie Redknapp (left) and Gary Neville got into a heated debate. (Sky Sports.)

Neville continued: "I have heard you [Redknapp] criticise Daniel Levy at Tottenham when they failed over a long period of time. They have had failure over 20-30 years - and that's a fact. So my point is that we have had failure here for 10 years at United. The club is rotten. He [Levy] has built an unbelievable stadium that people want to come and play in; he has got the best training ground in the country; he's appointed a fantastic sporting director [Fabio Paratici]; he has built an unbelievable stadium that is the best in the world. Manchester United are the opposite of that.

"The only money that has been spent on players at United is the money that the club has generated or it has borrowed. It does not come from the family, so let's get this out of our heads that the Glazer family is putting money in every year, just like Roman Abramovich did, like the Saudi Arabians are doing at Newcastle, like Sheikh Mansour has done at Manchester City, who put their hands in their pockets and spend on players. They have not done that; they have borrowed and have used the revenue that the club has generated through its incredible fanbase and great commercial operation. That is what happens.

"If us four [Neville, Redknapp, Karen Carney and Kelly Cates] own that club tomorrow, we could spend the same money every year on that football club through its generations of revenue. That's a fact.

"These owners, since Sir Alex Ferguson left, have proven that they cannot manage a forward-thinking football club. It has been overtaken in every single department and it is painful and woeful.

"I was a footballer at the club and I would die for this football club. My point is, at this moment in time, there has been a toxic culture and atmosphere created at the club over a 10-year period, without its leaders, Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill, who were propping the club up while the family were sat in America glorifying the fact that they were part of it. We are now seeing what has happened without those two and leadership. It is a mess and it cannot carry on.

"The embedded failure over a 10-year period of where the club is currently at has to come back to the ownership. I blamed Ed Woodward for a long time, but the reality is that the Glazer family left him in situ, when he should not have been left in situ in charge of the football side. Ed probably would have done a good job on the business side.

"They have still not dealt with the football operation. They have still not dealt with the players in the recruitment department. They have still not dealt with the stadium which is rusting and needs massive money spending on it. United need a billion pounds in these next two or three years to either rebuild or renovate that stadium. They probably need another £500million or £600million for the training ground and other infrastructure projects and football investments.

"They have only got £40million or £50million cash left in the bank. They had £350million in the bank a few years ago; they have no longer got that money in the bank. Something is going to have to give soon, very, very soon."

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