When David Beckham returned to Old Trafford as an AC Milan player in 2010, he put a green and gold anti-Glazer scarf around his neck as he left the pitch. It was a huge moment. The fans inside the ground were buzzing. After all our protests, we now had the most famous footballer in the world supporting the cause.
Frustratingly, as soon as he got off the pitch, Beckham distanced himself from the Glazer protests.
I’m a Manchester United fan. I saw the scarf there, I put it round my neck. It’s the old colours of United, that’s all I knew. To be honest it’s not my business. I support the club. I always have done and I always will do. It’s nothing to do with me the way everything is run, that’s to do with other people but I’m a United fan and I will always support them. Obviously you can hear it week in and week out. There’s always protests going on. Let’s hope it gets sorted out.
With the club Beckham now owns, Inter Miami, being the talk of football now they have Lionel Messi playing for them, he has given an interview with The Athletic where he has discussed our ownership issues. The Glazers opened up the bidding process months ago, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatar reportedly getting down to the final two, but it’s all gone quiet on that front now. Beckham was asked whether it was time for the Glazers to go.
I think so. I think it’s purely because the fans want it. Once you lose the fans, especially at a club like Manchester United, it’s hard to get them back. Obviously, they (the Glazers) have achieved a lot, and financially, the fact we’re even talking about the numbers of what Manchester United will sell for shows the success they’ve had. But there needs to be change. We’ve all seen that, we all know that.
Beckham hasn’t been asked to support any bid or have any involvement with a potential ownership, but leaves the door open for that in the future.
I haven’t been approached and I suppose any involvement with Manchester United would mean the world to me, going forward. But who knows? We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks or months. Hopefully, a decision gets made and if I’m involved in any way… if not, I’ll be a United fan and just do what all the other fans are doing — turn up and watch our team.
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