Why Man Utd players are furious with the likes of Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes

United, since then, have got nowhere near winning the Premier League title.

David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim have all come and gone with the fallen giants becoming a faded force.

Millions has been splurged, with little reward.

From Cristiano Ronaldo to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexis Sanchez to Angel Di Maria, Paul Pogba to Jadon Sancho, superstars have signed only to become afterthoughts.

Bruno Fernandes is, perhaps, the sole good arrival since Ferguson's exit. And had Sir Jim Ratcliffe got his way back in the summer, the Portugal international wouldn't even still be strutting his stuff under the lights of Old Trafford.

It is obvious that United aren't the team of old. They were remarkable against Manchester City under Michael Carrick on Saturday but there have been far too many false dawns to get excited over what, potentially, is another.

Never shy to mince their words, club legends have often piled in.

Keane is straight-talking. Perhaps still operating with a chip on his shoulder following his explosive falling-out with Ferguson in 2005, he has often been damning in his criticism.

Neville is less critical, but still critical enough. Whether it's on his podcast, social media or live on Sky Sports, he's been relenting in his criticism of his old club.

Ironically, when quizzed on INEOS - who call the shots on the sporting side of things these days - he's less scathing.

Given he was consulted on the club's plans for a new stadium, perhaps that's no surprise.

Scholes was quiet as a footballer and never used to give interviews. He preferred to hop in his car and drive home, too wary to face the press.

It is, therefore, surprising that he's another who has turned to punditry.

Scholes made headlines last week when, along with fellow United legend Nicky Butt, the pair took aim at Lisandro Martinez and questioned whether the small Argentine was capable of shackling the powerhouse that is Erling Haaland.

They made cheap jokes at Martinez's expense, even suggesting that Haaland would be able to throw him to the floor with ease.

Yet Martinez didn't deserve that. Especially given how he nullified the threat of Haaland in the 2024 FA Cup final, with even Pep Guardiola confessing that his selection that day proved to be the difference.

United players, it's understood, have had enough.

They feel club legends are too quick to kick them when they're down and that some of the comments, such as about Martinez's frame, have crossed a line.

No matter the personnel, it's an issue that has gone on for years. GB News understands Pogba found Graeme Souness' constant attacks on him far too tiresome and felt that others working for Sky at the time, with United links, didn't offer him enough protection.

United are arguably the biggest club on the planet, despite their drastic decline.

Even grand names such as Mourinho and Van Gaal, with years of experience, were taken aback by just how scrutinised every little thing is there.

Club legends have every right to voice their opinion but it doesn't benefit players. The current generation, in stark contrast to those who came before them, are sensitive souls. That is, perhaps, why Solskjaer got such a tune out of them. The Norwegian was a caring and calm presence and United legends, during his reign, tried to go easy on him.

With Carrick now in charge, it remains to be seen if history repeats itself.