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Manchester United legend Gary Neville has blasted his former club for their handling of Dan Ashworth’s exit as sporting director.
Man United fought with Newcastle United to release Ashworth from his contract at St James’ Park for months before eventually agreeing a multi-million-pound compensation deal in June. But five months on and Ashworth has left Manchester United by ‘mutual consent’ with around £200million spent on new transfers and the club sitting 13th in the Premier League table.
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Having worked with Ashworth previously at the Football Association and England, Neville has questioned Ashworth’s departure.
Something like that can’t be mutual," Neville told NBC Sports. "There have been mass redundancies within the club, a complete overhaul of the executive of the club in terms of the CEO, CFO, sporting director, technical director and now manager recently. You would’ve expected large changes, but not for this position.
"Ashworth was headhunted for many months, he was chased for about 10 months. He was on gardening leave for four or five months, they paid millions of pounds to get him.
"I worked with Dan at the FA for two years, and he’s been very successful everywhere he has been. Brighton, West Brom, the FA and Newcastle most recently. I’m most shocked this has happened, it’s not a great look at all. It’s something that’s going to need a lot of explaining."
Ashworth spent two years at Newcastle, overseeing the club’s Champions League qualification in his first full season in charge. He was placed on gardening leave in February following a formal approach from Manchester United.
Now The Red Devils have confirmed Ashworth’s departure in a 41-word club statement, which read: “Dan Ashworth will be leaving his role as Sporting Director of Manchester United by mutual agreement.
Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth, who has left the club after just five monthsManchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth, who has left the club after just five months
Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth, who has left the club after just five months
“We would like to thank Dan for his work and support during a transitional period for the club and wish him well for the future.”
And Neville had demanded more transparency from his former club.
"The statement the club have put out is really poor," he added. "Man Utd haven’t had a voice for 10 years. They’ve lost their authority and their boldness. They’ve been getting it back a little bit in the last 12 months, but it’s really clear there’s a fracture here.
"You can’t bring someone in like Dan Ashworth, lose him after five months and think something hasn’t gone wrong. Fans are going to be asking what’s gone wrong. They’re going to speculate, there’s going to be huge voids.
"You’re better off punching us in the face with the truth sometimes when it’s so obvious something has gone wrong, between the personalities of Dan Ashworth and Omar Barrada, Dave Brailsford, whoever it is who hasn’t got on with each other. Just tell us, because it’s obvious something has happened. That statement is weak."
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