United legend Gary Neville tells Apollo ‘they will not be welcomed in Manchester’

BREAKING NEWS: Gary Neville warns Apollo ‘they will not be welcomed in Manchester’, tells the Glazers it is ‘totally unacceptable’ to part sell United and claims ‘US money is a bigger danger than ANY other’ to English football

Gary Neville has furiously hit out at news the Glazer family are considering selling a stake in Manchester United to US investment fund Apollo.

Taking to Twitter early on Friday, Old Trafford hero Neville wrote: ‘If the reports are true that the Glazer Family are ready to part sell ahead of a full sale it’s totally unacceptable that this is to a US investment fund. 

‘Apollo have been mentioned but they need to know they will not be welcomed in Manchester.’

He continued: ‘The US model of sports ownership is all about significant return on investment ( at all cost ie Super League and Big Picture ). 

‘The ownership model in England needs to change and US money is a bigger danger to that than any other international money. We need a regulator asap!’

Gary Neville has told US investment firm Apollo that they will not be welcome in Manchester

Sportsmail exclusively revealed on this week that New York-based private equity group Apollo were in discussions with the Glazer family about taking a minority stake in United.

Talks between the Glazers and the US firm are focused on how much money the family will get for their shares, with no immediate plans for fresh money to be pumped into the club.

The news will come as a blow to long-suffering fans hoping new investors might inject much-needed funds to revamp Old Trafford and the Carrington training ground, or provide a bigger transfer kitty.

Negotiations with Apollo are centred on how much four Glazer family members —Kevin, Bryan, Darcie and Edward Glazer — are willing to accept for their shares.

They want out, unlike their brothers, Joel and Avram Glazer, who have no intention of giving up overall ownership or day-to-day control of United.

The six siblings each own an equal number of shares in United and, crucially, they control 97 per cent of the voting equity between them. Some shares are also traded on the New York Stock Exchange but they have heavily diluted voting rights.

British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has also expressed his interest in mounting a takeover, fuelling hopes among United supporters that the club’s despised American owners may finally decide to sell up. 

It has given fresh impetus to anti-Glazer protests that will take place before Monday’s game against Liverpool amid tight security around Old Trafford. The same fixture was postponed last year following angry demonstrations.

On Thursday, a fans’ group dedicated to targeting United’s sponsors and damaging the Glazers’ revenue streams wrote to Apollo threatening to tarnish the company’s reputation if it did not walk away from the talks.

United’s problems off the field have been compounded by losing the first two games of the Premier League season under new manager Erik ten Hag.

A 2-1 defeat by Brighton was followed by a 4-0 thrashing by Brentford to leave United last in the Premier League table. 

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