Gary Neville poses 16 questions to Manchester United hierarchy following Sheikh Jassim's decision to withdraw bid for takeover of club

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has asked some questions to the club hierarcy after Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani withdrew his bid for 100% ownership of the club on Saturday (October 14).

As reported by Sky Sports, Sheikh Jassim made his fifth and final offer of buying the club in June. The offer was said to be more than £5 billion — the only 100% bid for Manchester United — but it still did not meet the current owners Glazers' valuation.

On November 22, 2022, the Glazers — who have owned United since 2005 — announced their intention to sell the club. On February 17, Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe submitted bids. A day later, U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management entered the fray.

With no bid meeting the Glazers' valuation of £6 billion, multiple rounds of bids were invited in the next few months. Sheikh Jassim submitted his fifth and final improved bid for United on June 7, which was more than the $3.3 billion valuation of United in the New York Stock Exchange.

Seeing no progress or update on the protracted sale process, the Qatari withdrew his bid on October 14. It now seems that Sir Radcliffe's bid - which involves buying 25% stake in the club - could see the light of day.

Following the withdrawal of Sheikh Jassim's bid, Neville posted 16 questions for the Manchester United hierarchy as the club continue to struggle both on and off the field:

"1. What does the distribution of funds look like? Is all the cash being taken out of the club?"

"2. Which Glazers are going or is it a family dilution?"

"3. How does it impact the NYSE shareholders?"

"4. Does the executive stay the same?"

"5. Does the sporting side stay the same above the manager?"

"6. Who within the board has sporting control?"

"7. Are there future dilution clauses with the Glazer family in any deal you do as a minority shareholder? When are they?"

"8. We’re maxed out on the credit card and debt. How is this deal going to change the capital structure and financial issues the club has?"

"9. Is any further debt being placed on the club?"

"10. Is any debt being paid off?"

"11. How does this deal impact the board composition?"

"12. How does a minority shareholder impact the negative culture within the entire organisation?"

"13. Old Trafford is tired and is in need of significant redevelopment. How does this deal resolve this issue?"

"14. Will this deal allow the development of the training ground to its required standard?"

"15. Old Trafford requires significant investment on its surrounding land. Does this deal impact this requirement positively or does it leave it as a concrete wasteland?"

"16. How does a minority shareholder stop cultural decline across a whole organisation if the people who have overseen this decline still have a majority shareholding?"

Erik ten Hag's side are struggling this season, losing four of their eight Premier League games to languish in tenth place in the standings. They've also lost both their UEFA Champions League games.

Meanwhile, their Old Trafford ground is in dire need of renovation and redevelopment to bring it at par with other world-class stadiums.

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What is the Glazers' position on Manchester United's sale?

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag

Sheikh Jassim's lastest bid for Manchester United would have made the Premier League giants the most expensive sports team in the world, £200 million more than NFL team Washington Commanders. However, it still didn't meet the valuation of the Glazers.

Sky Sports' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol says that the Glazers are leaning towards Ratcliffe's deal, which forced Sheikh Jassim to withdraw from the sale process:

"The Glazers have indicated that they would rather do a deal with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is offering to buy an initial 25 per cent stake in Manchester United, so Sheikh Jassim has withdrawn from the sale process for Manchester United."

It essentially means the Glazers aren't leaving Manchester United anytime soon, as reported by Solhekol. That adds to the frustration of fans and former players like Neville, as United have fallen off the perch since winning their last Premier League title in 2013.