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Avram Glazer insisted last month that he will not sell Manchester United (Picture: Getty)
Manchester United fans have branded former star Tim Howard an ‘absolute weasel’ for defending the Glazers’ ownership of the club.
United supporters have staged many protests against the Glazers over the years, mainly for plunging the Red Devils into debt, with fans regularly wearing yellow and green scarfs at matches to mark their disapproval.
The Glazers took full control of United 20 years ago – in a hugely unpopular deal among the fanbase – as it was financed mainly via loans secured against the club’s assets, with their popularity sinking to new lows since.
The Americans have been accused of not caring about the actual performance of the club, only the the money it makes, with the Glazers also criticised for being reactive in the transfer market, constantly overpaying for players and a number of their managerial appointments.
Despite selling a minority stake to Sir Jim Ratcliffe in 2024, now in charge of football operations, the Glazers still remain at Old Trafford, with many of United’s facilities left in need of an upgrade.
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But former USA international goalkeeper Howard, who played for United from 2003 to 2007, has launched a defence of the Glazer family, feeling the criticism of his American compatriots is ‘one-sided’ and insists the club’s owners have consistently invested over the years.
That has left some United fans furious, with @isj0001 posting on Reddit: ‘[They] didn’t spend their billions to own a football club, it was a leveraged buyout with the debt loaded onto the club. So… by his logic they don’t have the right to run it the way they want. [Tim Howard is an] absolute weasel.’
Howard fiercely defended the Glazers’ ownership in an interview with beIN Sports, saying: ‘I think they have spent money for Manchester United in certain places and, like, ultimately the criticism of the ownership from fans – of any club but if you look at United – it is often times one-sided.
‘The Glazers own the football club and that in turn is a business. What I’ve always said, because I am an owner of a football club, is that when you spend your billions to own a business then you have the right to run it in any way you want.
Tim Howard of Manchester United
Tim Howard played 77 games for Man Utd from 2003 to 2007 (Picture: Getty)
‘Now that will ultimately prove good or bad business, for sure, but you have the right to run it the way you want and along with that comes criticism. But everyone understands that.
‘I think they have spent and I think you can take it a step further and look at other clubs. Everton are a mess, not because they haven’t spent. They have spent a lot of money. In fact so much so they got docked points because of PSR.’
Howard, who also played for Everton from 2007 to 2016, then clarified that investing and investing well are two very different things.
‘I think the Glazers are spending money,’ he added. ‘When you look at the squad and the amount of money that was paid for the likes of Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo and all these players, the money was spent.
‘Was it spent wisely? Well, I’m not sure the Glazers make those decisions. So there are other parts of that question that need to be answered.’
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