Protest group The 1958 have announced plans for a march at Manchester United’s final game of the season against Aston Villa a week on Sunday.
Monday’s statement coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Glazer family’s leveraged buyout of United in May 2005 and was titled ‘a legacy of ruin’.
The group have not revealed details of the protest which follows a march by thousands of United fans before the game against Arsenal at Old Trafford earlier this season.
The statement read: ‘May 2005 marked one of the darkest days in the history of Manchester United Football Club. The Glazer family became majority shareholders, triggering a compulsory takeover that was completed on 29th June 2005.
‘That moment signalled the beginning of the end for the soul and community of our once-great club – sacrificed at the altar of corporate greed.
‘Sir Alex Ferguson, a staunch supporter of the Glazers then and now, masked the damage with unprecedented success on the pitch. Since his retirement, the rot beneath has been laid bare for all to see – the true cost of 20 years of financial exploitation and mismanagement.
Manchester United protest group The 1958 have announced plans for a march
The protest will take place at United’s final game of the season at Old Trafford
A statement from the group said the controversial Glazer family ‘will never be welcome’
‘The club is drowning in over a billion pounds of debt (down to Glazer greed and betrayal). Our fanbase is fractured and divided (down to Glazer greed and betrayal). Our stadium neglected (down to Glazer greed and betrayal).
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‘Hundreds of millions have been siphoned off to service that debt – not by the Glazers, but by our club. All while the Glazers continue to pocket dividends, year after year, regardless of failure on the pitch. Old Trafford, once the Theatre of Dreams, is crumbling from decades of neglect. They’ve taken everything.
‘Now, even Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival has come at the cost of hundreds of jobs, further punishing a fanbase already suffering under the Glazers’ reign. Lifelong, loyal supporters are being driven away from the club they love – priced out and pushed aside. Another dagger in the heart of our footballing community. Make no mistake – this is the legacy of the Glazer family: greed, decay, and betrayal.
‘Our final home game of the season is against Aston Villa. We march as one fanbase to make it clear: 20 years on, the fire still burns Red – with fury and defiance.
‘We want the Glazers out of our club. They were never welcome. They are not welcome now. They will never be welcome.’
