Gary Neville slams Manchester United over Ashworth exit and says ‘it’s better to punch us in the face with the truth’

Gary Neville has criticised Manchester United’s vague statement regarding Dan Ashworth’s departure and said sometimes it’s better “punching us in the face with the truth”.

Ashworth left Old Trafford yesterday by mutual consent just five months after taking up the role of sporting director as part of the off-field rebuild under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group.

The statement that accompanied his exit made no mention of the reasons why although reports have suggested Ratcliffe was angry that Ashworth had publicly distanced himself from the decision to hand former boss Erik ten Hag a contract extension.

Neville sees little value in not disclosing the truth to the fans and believes United ought to come clean.

Dan Ashworth will be leaving his role as Sporting Director of Manchester United by mutual agreement.#MUFC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 8, 2024

Neville shocked

Speaking on NBC Sports, the former United and England full-back said: “I’m really shocked that this has happened. It’s not a great look at all and it’s something that will need explaining. I think the statement that the club has put out is really poor.

“Manchester United haven’t had a voice for 10 years – they’ve lost their authority, their boldness. I think they’ve been getting it back a bit in the last 12 months but what’s really clear is that there is a fracture here, something has happened.

“You can’t bring someone in at the level of Dan Ashworth and then lose him after five months and think something hasn’t gone wrong. The fans are now going to ask the question: what’s gone wrong? They’re going to speculate, it’s going to leave huge voids.

“I think you’re better off punching us in the face with the truth sometimes when it’s so obvious that there’s been something that has gone wrong between the personalities of Dan Ashworth, Omar Berrada, Dave Brailsford, whoever it is in the last few months that have obviously not got on with each other or it’s not been working.

“Just tell us because it’s obvious something has happened. I think that statement is weak.”

Ruben shares his assessment of a frustrating evening at Old Trafford 💬#MUFC || #MUNNFO

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 7, 2024

Ashworth was headhunted for United role

United had to wait for Ashworth to take up the role initially after months of haggling with his former club Newcastle over compensation which makes the situation even more difficult to comprehend, according to Neville.

“You would have expected large changes but not changes for this position,” he added. “Dan Ashworth was headhunted for many, many months. He was chased for 10 months, on gardening leave for four or five months, he was paid millions of pounds for.

“I worked with Dan Ashworth at the FA for two years and he’s been very successful wherever he’s been – Brighton, West Brom, the FA, at Newcastle most recently.”

Ashworth was reportedly told of the decision at a meeting shortly after United’s 3-2 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening, new manager Ruben Amorim’s first setback in charge.

United are not expected to hire a direct replacement, at least in the short-term, despite the January transfer window opening in three weeks’ time. It is believed technical director Jason Wilcox and interim director of recruitment Christopher Vivell will take on added responsibility in the interim period.