Erik ten Hag denied that a protest by fans demanding a “100% sale” of Manchester United was a distraction, after thousands marched to Old Trafford from the city centre before the 1-0 win against Aston Villa.
Some of those involved in the action held banners stating “Full Sale Only” and “Glazers Out”. This was because of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s intention to purchase just over 50% of United and being open to one or more of the Glazers, who own the club, retaining their stake.
The American family is strongly disliked by a considerable constituency of fans because of the debt of close to £1bn loaded on to the club. This began with the leveraged buyout by Malcolm Glazer in 2005 that placed a debt of about £500m on United.
Some of the protesters on Sunday did not enter Old Trafford to watch the game against Villa until the 18th minute – to represent the 18 years of Glazer proprietorship.
The only publicly declared party interested in a full purchase is Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, a Qatari banker, so the implication of the march is that those undertaking it prefer him as the new owner, despite his country’s dire human rights record.
The Raine Group, which is handling the sale, is yet to indicate the next steps and any timeframe for these to the bidders.
After a game won by Bruno Fernandes’s first-half goal, the manager was asked if the supporters’ protests had made it difficult for his side to focus. Ten Hag said: “We felt they were behind us, we have to focus to be successful, that’s what fans expect, I’m sure when we give performances like we did all season the fans are behind us. There’s a strong bond.”
Capping a week that began with victory against Brighton on penalties in their FA Cup semi-final and continued with a 2-2 draw at Tottenham, United’s win took them to 63 points in fourth place with six matches left in their hunt for a Champions League berth. But the manager insisted the players should not be distracted. “You have to wait until it’s done, have to keep going game to game,” Ten Hag said.
“It has been a brilliant week for us, started with a semi-final in a tough FA Cup game – we got through to the final – then Tottenham, and today’s impressive game in two good halves. So big credits to the team.”
