Bayern Munich supporters have let Manchester City and Manchester United know exactly how they feel about their owners after unravelling a banner during their team’s 3-0 Champions league loss at the Etihad on Tuesday evening.
City supporters have seen their side become regulars in the latter stages of the Champions League under owner Sheikh Mansour while United are in the throes of a takeover process that fans hope will see the hugely unpopular Glazers exit the club.
Clubs in Germany are renowned for their low ticket prices compared to the Premier League, with Bundesliga outfits required to operate the 50+1 ownership rule whereby a club must own its own majority.
READ MORE: Manchester United takeover news LIVE
Bayern supporters made their thoughts clear about how they feel about the structure of the hierarchies at United and City by unfurling a banner against their owners during Tuesday's match. It read: ‘Glazers, Sheikh Mansour, all autocrats out! Football belongs to the people.’
A number of City fans responded to this by chanting the name of Sheikh Mansour. Their cross city rivals are thought to be entering the closing stages of their takeover process at Old Trafford.
A number of United bidders have gone public since tabling their proposals, including Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani. His bid has received pushback from a number of human rights groups who have pointed to welfare concerns in the country.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News last month, FairSquare co-director Nick McGeehan outlined his worries about Sheikh Al-Thani’s bid. “I do think it’s tremendously dangerous and sets a precedent for English and European football,” he said.
“Then there’s ramifications for Manchester the city itself, which I think need to be considered. You’ve got two great Manchester institutions, [Manchester] City and United, in a city that has a proud history for all sorts of social issues, and is a city that wears that on its sleeve.
“And here you’re going to have a situation where both of those clubs are going to be owned by abusive, corrupt states that are using them not because of any interest in football or any desire to make money, but for political ends and to exercise political power. That is not a situation that Manchester, the city, wants to be in.”
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