London, Jun 19 (IANS): Manchester United chief executive officer Richard Arnold on Sunday headed off a planned protest outside his Cheshire house by meeting some fans in the local pub.

Arnold, the club's most senior executive, discovered that the supporters had met up in the pub before their protest so he went to meet them there.

Part of the discussion was secretly filmed and posted on social media. In the video, Arnold seemed to say that United had "burned" through 1bn pounds on players over the past few years, a BBC report said.

The 51-year-old also said that the money that new manager Erik ten Hag and director of football John Murtough want to spend on new players "is there". It has been learnt that talks are continuing with Barcelona over Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who is Ten Hag's number one summer transfer target.

Notably, United have not won the Premier League title since 2013 and last won a trophy in 2017. They finished last season in sixth place, having sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and replaced him with interim boss Ralf Rangnick.

Arnold, who became CEO on February 1, 2022, following the exit of Woodward, described last season as "a nightmare" but he also criticised the fan protests that were held at many of the club's final home games of the season.

Fans held various protests against the Glazer family's ownership of the Old Trafford club last season at home games and the training ground.