03 March 2023 , 17:53
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Manchester United legend Gary Neville has admitted that he "wouldn’t feel right" if Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani poured huge funds into the Red Devils to get them back on top of the Premier League.
The chairman of one of Qatar's largest banks, he submitted a bid to complete a takeover of the Old Trafford outfit last month. Sheikh Jassim is competing with Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe to seal a deal.
It remains to be seen who will be the new owners of the club but Neville already has his reservations on a potential Qatari-backed takeover. He has continued to call for more regulation on spending, whilst suggesting that he would not be comfortable with Sheikh Jassim spending fortunes in an effort to get the Red Devils challenging for league titles.
Speaking on The Overlap, Neville said: “There has to be a cost control on clubs otherwise you would get a disparity and it would take away its competitive edge. That's where the game needs proper regulation.
“Sustainability measures, real-time financial monitoring. Clubs should be allowed to invest to get up to the level of the top clubs. Newcastle's owners, Brighton's owners should be able to invest up to level to compete with Man United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man city, all the top revenue clubs.
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“I wouldn't feel right if we had an ownership that came in and we started spending a billion or £800m every transfer market signing five best players in the world and we were winning the league every year.
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“That's not right. That's not protecting the pyramid, that's destroying English football. so we do need cost controls in place.”
Neville has continued to call for even more protection for clubs lower down the football pyramid with a suggestion that any transfer fees should be shared among lower league clubs, something that he can’t see happening if a Qatari-takeover is completed.
He added: “I don't see the fault in the money going through the pyramid if Liverpool buy a player, or Man United or Newcastle do, and it filters through the game. I thought it [FFP] was brought to protect clubs going into the wall.
“If the Qataris come in and buy Man United and blow all the people away, it's not a fair run.”
It still remains to be seen whether Sheikh Jassim has done enough to complete a deal for the Red Devils. The Glazers are yet to accept any bids for the club having previously set a £6bn price-tag - something that is yet to be met by either the Qatari-backed bid or Ratcliffe.
The American family are also in disagreement over the bids lodged so far with each sibling having their own intentions for their share.