Gary Neville was heavily critical of Glazer family around their handling of Manchester United finances, facilities and commitment to the club; Executive co-chairman Joel Glazer claims remarks have been "heard" and promised to improve communication and fan engagement
Monday 14 June 2021 18:27, UK
Joel Glazer has stressed the Manchester United board have listened to Gary Neville's criticism around their management of the club.
Sky Sports pundit Neville urged Joel and his brother Avram Glazer to sell the club after the controversial European Super League plans fell through, claiming there is a "general distrust and dislike" of them among United fans.
Neville, who spent his 19-year professional career at United, was heavily critical of United's owners on various topics such as their commitment to the club as well as their handling of the club's facilities, finances and fan experience.
Speaking during a two-hour meeting with United's Fans' Forum held earlier in June, executive co-chairman Glazer claimed Neville's "good ideas" have not fallen on deaf ears and he endeavoured to continue listening to the club legend in future.
"I know Gary has been, to say the least, pretty hard on us, and it's okay," Glazer said.
"Everybody has their views. There's two ways to look at it; you can just shut the person out because they're not saying something nice about you and ignore it. Or you can pause, you can listen.
"People always have good points, good ideas and you have to take them to heart. You can't ignore people. We can't ignore things, we have got to listen. You can't necessarily accomplish everything, it's not always that simple.
"Sometimes things are a little more complex, but Gary's a legend. Gary did so much for this club. Gary has good ideas, good thoughts. And they're heard."
Glazer also explained his lack of prior communication since his family took charge of Manchester United, and promised to improve engagement in future.
"We always took the approach that we should stay in the background," he said. "Let the manager, the players, the people at Old Trafford, be the ones out in front, communicating and talking.
"But in retrospect, that was not the right approach and there's a middle ground.
"Our silence wrongly created the impression that we don't care, that we aren't football fans, that we only care about our commercial interests and money. And I can assure you, nothing could be further from the truth."
