Manchester United owner, Joel Glazer has issues a public apology to club supporters following a failed breakaway attempt to form an European Super League.
On Sunday evening (18 April), Man Utd along with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur all announced plans to join a Super League, only to withdraw less than 48 hours later due to outrage from fans and rival clubs.
Reflecting on the rage endured against the club in an open letter, Glazer acknowledged what he described as ‘great passion’ and ‘deep loyalty’ from fans and admitted that Utd simply ‘got it wrong’ whilst vowing to ‘put things right.’
Glazer went on to speak of the reality that repairing the damage in trust between the club and supporters ‘will take time’ but is personally committed to ‘rebuilding trust’ with players within the club as well as fans after various squad members criticised the plans on social media.
Marcus Rashford tweeted a photo stating that “Football is nothing without fans”, whilst Luke Shaw tweeted that ‘Fans and players should always have a voice and their opinion should always be counted.’
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) April 20, 2021
— Luke Shaw (@LukeShaw23) April 20, 2021
Glazer however still believes that European football needs to ensure that it is ‘more sustainable throughout the pyramid’ in the long-term, yet accepts that he and the club has gone the incorrect way about forcing change with a failure to respect the sport’s ‘deep-rooted traditions’.
Glazer consequently admitted that he is ‘sorry’ and ‘unreservedly’ apologises for causing unnecessary unrest seen across football over the last 72 hours, in which Utd legend – Gary Neville described their behaviour as “criminal” and typical of “bottle merchants”.
Utd will now take ‘necessary steps’ required to repair their relationships with various stakeholders, in order to enable all parties to work together on creating solution to various issues facing the football pyramid
Switching focus to the pandemic, Glazer praised the club and fans across the globe for how they handled the “enormous pressures” of this difficult period, whilst recognising that their support is a part of why Man Utd is an iconic club in football.
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