Gary Neville has doubled down on his criticism of Manchester United 's "tone deaf" stars who went on a "global tour" following their Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid, despite heavy backlash on Twitter.
The Red Devils were dumped out of Europe's elite competition last Tuesday in the round-of-16, enforcing an 18-day hiatus amid in the international break. And over the weekend, on which they were due to play Liverpool in the Premier League before their rivals reached the FA Cup quarter-finals, a host of names connected with the faltering club were spotted in public at events.
A number of players made appearances on social media enjoying their time off, while interim manager Ralf Rangnick was seen watching England play cricket in Barbados and owner Avram Glazer attended the Bahrain Grand Prix. That prompted a dismayed Neville to hit out in a social media tirade on Monday morning.
"I remember a time when United players, managers, executives wouldn't be seen in their local Italian after a draw at home let alone getting knocked out of Europe," the former Red Devils captain wrote in a furious tweet. "This last week we've seen a global tour of F1, Concerts, Cricket and UFC events. This lot are tone deaf!"
A user replied asking: "These players are human beings, do you expect them to stay in their houses in isolation? Expect better from someone who was a player for all those years," but Neville was steadfast in his verdict, adding: "I expect them to adapt to circumstances and go on holiday but quietly!"
The acclaimed Sky Sports pundit then reaffirmed in a separate response: "They are [allowed lives outside of football]. They can go on holiday, relax, take time off. However, if you've been knocked out of the Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup and floundering in the league I wouldn't think it's too much to ask to lie low a bit."
Following their Champions League exit, United are enduring their longest trophy drought in 40 years, having last tasted silverware under Jose Mourinho in 2017. The second-leg loss came after beating Tottenham 3-2 in the Premier League thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo 's hat-trick, a win that failed to convince Neville.
"No surprise last night. Any decent team, with organisation and fight are likely to beat this United team," he tweeted last Wednesday. "It's why I couldn't get excited after Spurs last Saturday because that Spurs performance would will get you beat v a good team. A long road in to the end of May!"
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And on his Sky Sports podcast, the 47-year-old went on to admit: "I have to say, at the end [against Atletico], it was just hope. I was sat there at the end thinking, even that last corner, 'they'll score, Manchester United always score'. But they don't anymore, they don't score anymore.
"Because the reality of it is that something's missing, something big is missing, and it comes from the top. We've said before about owners, it comes from the top." That led Neville to criticise Avram's brother, Joel, who promised more communication with supporters following the European Super League fiasco.
Continuing his rant, the ex-right-back issued a demand to the club's executive co-chairman by saying: "We heard Joel Glazer say some time ago he was going to engage with the fans – flights are open, Joel, you can get to Manchester. Let's see you over here, let's see you talk to the fans properly."
