Manchester United's new CEO Richard Arnold joined fans at the pub and opened up about how the club have f***ing burned through cash” in an extraordinary meeting.
On Saturday, a group of around 12 supporters from the 1958 had planned to protest outside the 51-year-old's house.
In 2020, some fans had caused controversy when they threw flares and sung death chants about previous chief executive Ed Woodward.
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It led to a strong statement from United, who condemned the behaviour.
But Arnold, who replaced Woodward in the position in February this year, moved to stop that from happening and instead met with the disgruntled fans at his local, the Boot Inn pub in Willington, Cheshire.
He paid for protesters' drinks and gave an honest assessment of the current situation United are in and wasn't afraid to dish the dirt on Woodward's performance.
Part of the meeting was filmed and uploaded on social media. At one point in the video, Arnold explained: “We’ve f***ing burned through cash. We spent a billion pounds on players, we spent more than anyone in Europe.
“I am not thrilled with where we are, it doesn’t sit easy and we’ve got to get this sorted.
“You can’t go to our training ground and go, ‘show me where that billion pounds is here’.
“I don’t think we’ve done well with the money we’ve spent historically. We’ve blown through an enormous amount of money.
“Last year was a f***ing nightmare. I was hating every minute of it.”
Arnold has been with United since 2007, joining first as a group commercial director. In the meet-up, he confirmed that new manager Erik ten Hag will be able to strengthen a squad that finished in sixth position last season with their worst ever points tally.
But with problems in the club from the top to bottom, Arnold also revealed that the Red Devils need outside investment in order to renovate Old Trafford and the AON training complex.
"This summer, the money that the manager and director of football wants is there," he continued.
“For the future, for investing in a new stadium and that sort of stuff, for a £250m training ground, we’ve got to do something, we’ve got to get investors in.
“I need that to do what I want for the club — I’ve got to have more cash than I have now.”
One fan had asked Arnold for an update on the pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong.
Arnold aimed a dig at his predecessor, Woodward, when he said, "Do you want me buying the players? Doesn’t that ring a bell?"
He was asked about leaks from the dressing room, which led to him reminding fans that Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard had both left following their contracts expiring.
According to one of the fans in attendance, Pogba was also called a "twat" by Arnold.
The face-to-face meeting was the first that fans had with an official from United in 17 years and was a historic, watershed moment.
Fans have long voiced their displeasure against owners the Glazers, notably storming Old Trafford and successfully getting the visit of Liverpool postponed last year.
Topics: Manchester United, Ed Woodward, Premier League
Josh Lawless