sport news Gary Neville admits he REGRETS not speaking out about the Glazers while he was ... trends now

Gary Neville has insisted he regrets not speaking out against the controversial Glazer family ownership of Manchester United sooner.

United's American owners have been a source of contention at Old Trafford ever since they became majority owners in 2005, facing significant fan anger and backlash.

After taking over the club through a leveraged buyout which placed £525m worth of loans onto the brand of United, they had racked up the club's debts to £495m by the end of 2021.

Overall, the Glazers have taken more than £1bn out of United in the form of dividends, interests, costs and fees during their 17-year-reign, which has been dominated by a decline in on-pitch performance and success.

In bombshell news earlier this week, United's owners announced they are open to selling the club.

And Neville, who was one of several first team players at the time in 2005 that didn't speak out about the controversial takeover despite heavy protests from fans, has insisted he does wish he had raised his concerns about the unpopular American family sooner.

'I don't want to come up with excuses,' he told Sky Sports. 'It was probably because we were successful and we were managed by Sir Alex Ferguson, who stuck to football.

'No player or member of staff ever spoke out against the leveraged takeover. When it happened we got on with winning trophies, winning the Champions League and winning Premier Leagues. 

'And the club, to be fair, carried on being successful. I worked on the theory at the time that we could have worse owners.

'They were quite passive. I never saw any interference while I was at the club as a player.' 

Between 2005 and Sir Alex Ferguson departing Old Trafford at the end of the 2012-13 season, the Red Devils won five

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