‘We do NOT own Man U’: NFL guru Jay Glazer in case of mistaken identity as he receives torrent of abuse after Old Trafford protest

NFL insider Jay Glazer claims he has been the recipient of a string of abusive messages online after he was mistaken for a member of the fiercely unpopular Glazer family who hold a controlling stake in Manchester United.

If Sunday's protests at and around Old Trafford represented a breaking point between Manchester United supporters and the Glazer regime which has governed the club for much of the past two decades, one person who shares that famous last name is keen to remind fans that he has absolutely nothing to do with the perceived mishandling of one of the world's most famous football teams - but you might not guess that by looking at his social media profiles.

NFL (and occasional MMA) analyst Jay Glazer says that he has been targeted by a slew of furious Red Devils fans following Sunday's chaotic scenes which saw fans invade Old Trafford, prompting the cancellation of the scheduled game with Premier League champions Liverpool and leading to a series of clashes with police.

But as far as Jay Glazer is concerned, you can leave him out of it.

"Just to be clear for the thousandth time as I woke up to all this stuff sent my way on social media... my family is from Brooklyn, NOT Tampa, we do NOT own Man U," Glazer wrote on Twitter.

"We can’t sell bc WE DON’T OWN IT!! You can’t be that good a fan of them if you think an NFL Insider owns your team."

The true targets of fans' ire is Joel and Avram Glazer who hold a controlling stake in the famous club, but fan fury is at an all-time high after the Glazer's involvement in the ill-fated Super League breakaway plans which proved to be fiercely unpopular amongst fans and threatened the genesis of a civil war within the beautiful game.

However, it seems as if Glazer's declaration did little to quell the torrent of abuse he says he was received and he ultimately relented, swearing to sell his fictional stake in Manchester United.

"Ahhhh f*ck it... after much consideration and many talks with my family (none) and due to the fact that the business is just getting in the way of my day-drinking I have, in fact, decided to sell my stake in Manchester United... this decision did not come easy," he joked on Twitter.

Actual Manchester United owners Avram and Joel Glazer. © Reuters

It seems, though, that some supporters didn't quite not the tone in which Glazer was writing in - with fans even going so far as to thank him for relenting to fan pressure and promising to sell the club.

"Thank you," wrote one fan in response. "Finally our protests worked."

Another noted that this move was "for the fans" and conceded that such a decision "must be tough" for Glazer, who, of course, has no links to Manchester United whatsoever.

"Whats next?" asked another. "Gotta sink those millions into something. F1 teams are always looking for deep pockets like you obviously have."

The actual Glazer family have yet to release any official comment following Sunday's scenes which forced the postponement of one of the most famous fixtures in English football - but one suspects that they are only too happy to have a conveniently named fall guy taking the brunt of the heat.