Gary Neville says Sir Jim Ratcliffe is already disrupting things at Manchester United and believes his former club “on the right track”, with Omar Berrada, who had been at rivals Manchester City, set to move to Old Trafford as the club’s new chief executive.
United have been searching for a new CEO since the departure of Richard Arnold and have found his successor in Berrada, who has played a key part in City’s recent on and off-the-field success.
Berrada’s imminent appointment will be one of the first major moves since British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his firm INEOS agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in the club.
Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, Neville thinks United have made a shrewd move in appointing Berrada.
“It’s a big job to be CEO of Man Utd, when you think of all the things he has to go at. But there are also some pretty easy wins straight away.
“Communication I think is really important, to have that voice that the club haven’t had for the last 10 years. He can form part of a new management structure that can build trust with the fans, us and everybody that watches the club.
“They’ve not had someone who has operated in football for a long time, and that’s really important. but it’s a big task, and all eyes are going to be on him.
Omar Berrada has seen Manchester City enjoy much on-field success in his time as chief operating officer
“He’s obviously had a brilliant, amazing grounding at Man City and Barcelona, two of the most successful clubs of the last 15 years.
“It looks like Man Utd are making more sound decisions and are on the right track and that can only be a positive. Sir Jim Ratcliffe was not going to come in and not disrupt things. The disruption has started pretty quickly.
“It was obvious. They hadn’t got a CEO, because Richard Arnold stepped down. They haven’t got a sporting director, and they haven’t got a notable head of recruitment. Those are three roles where owners are most exposed, with the money that gets spent on players, the revenues that get driven.
“It’s part of what I would imagine is a triangle of appointments I’d expect to see in the next few months.”
‘A much more serious football project’
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Gary Neville believes Manchester United’s recruitment of new CEO Omar Berrada is a solid start to what should be a ‘serious football project’ moving forward.
Neville, who has been critical of the Glazer family’s role at Manchester United in recent years, is hopeful Berrada’s appointment at the club is the start of a “more serious football project” at Old Trafford under British billionaire Ratcliffe and his firm INEOS.
Neville said: “We don’t quite know what’s gone on at Man City. But there’s a pathway that would be needed for everybody, at every club, and he’s probably two or three down the chain at Man City, and wanted to see a pathway to the top, and maybe that wasn’t there.
“But it’s deemed that basically it’s a very good signing by Manchester United.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrives at Old Trafford for Manchester United’s match with Tottenham following his takeover of football operations at the club
“What I did like about it, is that it was almost stealth, in the sense it wasn’t a massive build-up over a few months that dragged out. It just happened quickly. I like that about it.
“That triangle is critical in a football club – CEO, sporting director, head of recruitment – Man Utd operated without a sporting director for 10 years, which is just staggering. It’s one of the problems the Glazer family have created by not putting that position in place.
“This looks like the start of what should be a much more serious football project at the club, whereby the football side gets treated equally to the business side.
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Manchester United’s new minority investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe is spotted in the Old Trafford stands and is sat alongside former manager Sir Alex Ferguson as they face Spurs
“He obviously has business background, he’s the CEO, he’s not going to be picking the team, but he has worked in the football side of the business, and the commercial side.
“There’s a lot to do, and it’s a big ask, and who knows if it’s going to be ultimately successful. I wouldn’t put too much pressure on him too quickly, but there are some easy wins.
“From the reports, he’s a good guy, and that will help settle everyone down at the club. At the moment, you can imagine what the upheaval in the past months has done to the 400, 500, 600 staff at the club.
“If he can get the people right, the culture right, and get those two other appointments underneath him right – the sporting director and head of recruitment – they are the main exposure points for the owner of a football club. They need to get these three appointments right, and it looks like a very solid start.”