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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Mark Jones

Man Utd supporters' trust issue statement slamming Glazers as takeover enters third round

The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) has called on the Glazers to speed up the sale process of the club after a third round of bids were invited.

The Glazers, who have owned United since 2005, have been exploring a potential sale of the club since November last year, although selling a minority stake has also been considered.

United supporters had hoped that the process would bring about the end of the deeply unpopular ownership which has seen debts loaded onto the club and Old Trafford fall into disrepair, but five months on there has been no movement on any sale or new investor.

Qatar 's Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani, owner of the Qatar International Bank, and Jim Ratcliffe, the owner of INEOS, have been the two front-runners throughout the takeover process, but after each party lodged two bids the Glazers are still looking for more money.

United fans have called for an end to the takeover process (Getty Images)

United fans say this delay has the potential to affect the club on and off the pitch, and they are calling for an end to the impasses.

"When it was announced in November that the Glazers were undertaking a “strategic review” and inviting offers to buy the Club, MUST welcomed the news and went on to urge the majority owners to move ahead with the process with speed, so that any period of uncertainty was as short as possible," said MUST in a statement.

"Nearly five months on, we read speculation that offers from prospective buyers remain below the Glazers valuation, and that a third round of offers will now be invited.

"With Erik Ten Hag having made such great progress in his first season, and with the vital summer transfer window a matter of weeks away, the news of these delays and further prolonged uncertainty are of great concern. Erik needs to know what resources he has to spend so he can make the signings the Club needs, and the whole management resources of the Club need to be focussed on supporting him in that. That cannot be the case with the future ownership so unclear.

"We are also unable to move forward on major investment projects - not least the stadium redevelopment as we remain in limbo.

"We are in dire need of new investment, which undoubtedly requires new ownership. MUST, along with United fans all around the world, are calling for this process to be concluded without further delay."

The Glazers have been at United since 2005 (AFP via Getty Images)

Those comments echo those of United legend Gary Neville, who used the fact that Old Trafford has not been selected as one of the 10 stadiums in the UK's bid to host Euro 2028 as an example of how the Glazers have failed.

Neville told the Daily Mail : "The Glazer family have, for years, been warned about a lack of investment in Old Trafford.

"They have overseen a decline for 20 years in which it has gone from being one of the best stadiums in the world to one that can't even get into the top 10 in the UK and Ireland. This is an all-time low.

"That it is not in the best 10 to host a tournament is a joke."

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