Manchester United supporters have voiced their displeasure with the Glazers for many years and continue to do so despite Ineos’ arrival last year
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Tim Howard has defended the Glazers’ right to make whichever decisions they wish to having spent ‘billions’ on the club during their ownership.
The American family, spearheaded by Avram and Joel Glazer, have owned United since 2005. However, as time has worn on the bad will towards their ownership has only strengthened.
Strength of feeling towards them leaving reached fever pitch between 2023 and 2024 as there was a glimmer of hope that the Glazers were ready to complete a full sale of the club. Instead, the decision was made to sell a percentage of their shares to Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe who was given control of the football operations at the club.
As recently as Sunday, chants calling for the Glazers to leave could be heard from the terraces at Old Trafford as United crashed out of the FA Cup. Despite all this, Howard defended the Glazers’ approach to owning the Reds suggesting criticism of them was one-sided.
“I think they have spent money for Manchester United in certain places and I think ultimately the criticism of ownership from the fans, of any club, but if you look at Manchester United, it is often at times one-sided,” he told beIN SPORTS. “The Glazers own the football club and that in turn is a business.
“What I have always said, because I am an owner [of MLS club Houston Dynamos], when you spend your billions to own a business, you have the right to run it in any way you want. 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.
“You can take it a step further and look at other clubs. Everton are in a mess because they have spent, so much so that they got docked points because of PSR.
“I think the Glazers are spending money. When you look at the squad and the amount of money that was paid for the likes of [Jadon] Sancho, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and all these players, the money was spent.
“Was it spent wisely? I am not sure the Glazers make those decisions so there are other parts of that question that need to be answered.”
Unsurprisingly, supporters on X have turned on Howard with one user claiming he was ‘spouting categorical lies’ while another branded him an ‘absolute clown’. Recently, Avram Glazer was asked if he was considering selling his family’s remaining shares in the club to which he replied: “No.”
