Letter To @AndyBurnhamGM Mayor Of Manchester.
Dear Mayor Burnham,
I am writing to you not only as a football supporter, but as someone who believes deeply in Manchester’s identity, heritage, and future.
I urge you in the strongest possible terms to reject the regeneration application put forward by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family. This proposal is not about the people of Manchester, nor about football, nor about genuine regeneration. It is about power, vanity, and profit at the expense of a historic institution that helped put this city on the global map.
For nearly 20 years, Manchester United has been systematically hollowed out by the Glazer family. Since their leveraged takeover in 2005, the club has been burdened with over £1 billion in debt, interest payments, fees, and dividends. While rival clubs invested in stadiums, training facilities, local jobs, and community infrastructure, Old Trafford was allowed to decay its roof leaking, facilities falling behind, and safety repeatedly questioned. This neglect was not accidental; it was the predictable outcome of an ownership model designed to extract wealth rather than build value.
During this period, the Glazers paid themselves hundreds of millions of pounds in dividends while the club’s competitiveness, reputation, and relationship with supporters steadily eroded. This is not regeneration. This is extraction.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS now present themselves as saviours, yet their actions raise serious concerns. This project increasingly appears to be a vanity-led redevelopment, using Manchester United’s cultural and emotional capital to secure planning permissions, public goodwill, and long-term commercial upside without clear guarantees that the club, its supporters, or the local community will truly benefit.
Manchester United is not a property asset.
It is not a branding exercise.
It is not a financial instrument.
It is a civic institution, woven into the social, cultural, and economic fabric of this city. The club’s name is synonymous with Manchester across every continent. To allow those who have demonstrably damaged it to now reshape large parts of our city in their own image would be a profound failure of stewardship.
You have long spoken about protecting Manchester from decisions imposed by distant elites who do not live with the consequences of their actions. This is one of those moments. Approving this project would reward two decades of mismanagement and signal that global financiers can exploit our greatest institutions, then return asking for civic approval when it suits them.
Regeneration must be done with the people of Manchester, not to them.
It must be rooted in transparency, accountability, and community ownershipnot debt, leverage, and legacy-polishing.
Manchester deserves better.
Manchester United deserves better.
I ask you to stand with supporters, residents, and future generations by rejecting this application and demanding a vision for regeneration that genuinely serves the city and protects its soul.
Yours sincerely,
A concerned Manchester United supporter
🚨 | It’s time for the Manchester United fanbase online and The 1958 fan group to unite, finally.
I urge everyone to read this message, share the content, and to support their campaign on February 1st.
United have been DESTROYED by this ownership model. #UnitedIsBroken
🚨Ruben Amorim needs time to rebuild this United and fans need to give him that time. Greatness doesn’t happen overnight — history proves it.
Sir Alex took 5 years to truly get it right. Klopp needed 5 years before Liverpool were contenders. Arteta the same at Arsenal. Pep walked into City with a world-class squad and an unlimited budget.
Amorim inherited a broken Manchester United. He’s clearing out deadwood, killing player power, and forcing the club to finally recruit with brains instead of panic. That’s not a quick fix, that’s a cultural reset — and it takes time.
Even Omar Berrada has said the goal is to win the league by 2028. That tells you everything — Amorim is here for the long-term, not a hire-and-fire gamble.
Yes, the results will sting sometimes, but rebuilds are never built in months. If United want to be back on top, patience isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. Amorim deserves the time. Back him. #MUFC
Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine.
I will make this solemn announcement before the United Nations General Assembly this coming September.
The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population.
Peace is possible.
We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. We must also ensure the demilitarization of Hamas, secure and rebuild Gaza. And finally, we must build the State of Palestine, guarantee its viability, and ensure that by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the region.
There is no alternative.
The French people want peace in the Middle East. It is our responsibility — as French citizens, alongside Israelis, Palestinians, and our European and international partners — to prove that peace is possible.
In light of the commitments made to me by the President of the Palestinian Authority, I have written to him to express my determination to move forward.
Trust, clarity, and resolve.
We will achieve peace.