Gary Neville believes Manchester United’s recruitment in the last seven years has been ‘unforgivable’ as he hit out at the club’s hierarchy after a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah were able to put Liverpool 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League, and United hero Neville is resigned to the fact that their most bitter rivals will be winning the Premier League trophy for the first time.
While he praised Liverpool for the team they’ve put together under Jurgen Klopp, Neville wouldn’t hide his frustration at how far the Red devils have fallen and took aim at those in the boardroom for a string of poor investments in the market.
‘I can’t believe the investment that’s been put into the squad in the last five, six, seven years and you end up with that out on the pitch,’ he moaned on the Gary Neville Podcast.
‘I saw a statistic two weeks ago that United have the second-highest wage bill in the world. And that’s the squad they’ve got. It’s unforgivable. It really is.
‘I can’t change the ownership of Manchester United, no one can. But I’m struggling to understand why the ownership have persisted in trusting that management team to oversee the building of a Premier League title winning team since Sir Alex Ferguson left because if you don’t lose your job for essentially overseeing that investment, that wage bill, and putting that team out on the pitch then I have to say something is really wrong.
‘There’s real talent in that executive team, they can create revenue, they can do things with in the football club that can help to be fair, but in terms of what the club needed to do for a number of years now is put the best in class football operators into that club and they’re not doing it. They’re not doing it and it’s a mess.
‘They need to sort it out and quickly. The thing that should shock the owners more than anything, they should see that last minute goal – they should have that playing on record every single day in their office over in America – Liverpool Football Club’s fans singing we shall not be moved.’
While he accepts football moves in cycles, he wants the decision makers at United to be motivated than ever to find a way to down Liverpool, although he questioned whether the right personnel is in place to achieve that.
‘That’s how I feel tonight, I feel emotional,’ he added. ‘I was proud to be part of a great Manchester United team, I lived through a difficult childhood as a Manchester United fan, watching Liverpool win every single title it felt like and then United started to win and maintained it for a long time.
‘Things do go in cycles and there is an element of you have to accept Liverpool are a huge football club, but there are some huge decisions that need to be made in that boardroom at Manchester United. I can’t believe the squad they’ve ended up with after the investment they’ve made.
‘Liverpool, they’ve got a great team, they’ve got a great spirit, they’re going to be unstoppable this season, but somewhere in the background at United someone has to be plotting the downfall of Liverpool and getting back above them.
‘That’s going to take wise, smart, good people, and I’m not sure they’re there.’
