Gary Neville doesn't believe Dan Ashworth's departure from Old Trafford was a mutual decision, with the exit showing a clear split within the INEOS ranks.
Ashworth left his post as Manchester United's sporting director on Sunday, with the club citing a 'mutual agreement' as the reason in a brutally short 41-word statement.
The former Newcastle United bigwig had been ushered in as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's boardroom reshuffle, but the 53-year-old lasted just five months in the role.
Ashworth was said to have been escorted out of Old Trafford by an HR executive and a security official on Saturday evening following United's defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
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And in the aftermath of the departure, ex-Red Devils ace Neville has shared doubts over the reasons United gave for the decision.
Speaking to NBC Sports, he 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."
It's reported Ratcliffe had grown frustrated with Ashworth in the build-up to his departure, with claims the INEOS chief was unhappy he'd pushed for Erik ten Hag to stay on as manager after the summer.
"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."
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The Premier League winner concluded: "Something like that can't be mutual. I think when Ineos came into Manchester United everyone knew there were going to be huge changes. There have been massive redundancies in the club with a complete overhaul of the executive of the club in terms of the CEO, CFO, sporting director, technical director, manager obviously just recently as well.
"You would have expected large changes but not changes for this position. 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."
The scramble to find Ashworth's successor is already underway.
