Glazer family to skip Man Utd fan forum over Super League plans

The owners of Manchester United, the Glazer family, have turned down the chance to speak at a fan forum on Friday, just days after admitting they needed to have an open line of communication with supporters.

The Glazers' popularity plummeted from incredibly low to depths-of-hell low with the news that they were a driving force behind the plans to form a breakaway Super League, with club co-chairman Joel set for a role on the board of the new competition.

Joel apologised to fans for his role in the chaos caused by the Super League, admitting the whole family needed better communication with supporters after misjudging their response to the plans, but according to The Sun, neither he nor brother Avram will speak to fans at the first forum since the dust settled.

The Glazers skipping these events is nothing new. Fan forums used to be held by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who will step down from his role at the end of the season, but there had been hope that at least one of the brothers would have offered to answer questions, given everything that went on over the past week or so.

Instead, the meeting will be left to managing director Richard Arnold, who will answer questions on behalf of the Glazers and the club as a whole.

United supporters have been clear in their wish to see the Glazers leave Old Trafford in the aftermath of the scandal. A group of fans broke into the Carrington training ground to protest, while more descended on Old Trafford to make their voices heard.

There was even a plane flown over Elland Road when United travelled to Leeds last Sunday urging the Glazers to leave and accusing them of stealing £2bn from the club since arriving in 2005.

The Glazers are understood to have made it clear that they would listen to takeover bids, but only if any interested parties can come up with a whopping £4bn.

The belief is that United, as arguably the biggest football brand on the planet, is worth such a hefty figure because of its lucrative sponsorship deals and ability to reach all corners of the world due to its massive popularity.

In the unlikely event that they sell at that price, the Glazers would make an enormous profit on the £790m they paid to buy United back in 2005.

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