Yahoo Sports Manchester United raid Manchester City for new CEO Omar Berrada in statement move
Manchester United have poached Omar Berrada, the Manchester City chief football operations officer who signed Erling Haaland, to be their new chief executive in the first major move by new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Berrada, 46, is a direct Ratcliffe appointment, identified as the football executive whom Ratcliffe and his fellow Ineos executives want to lead the Old Trafford revolution. Berrada has been a key figure in some of City’s major signings in recent years. As well as the complex deal for Haaland, signed despite competition from Real Madrid, Berrada has played a major role in landing the likes of Jack Grealish and looks likely to name United’s next sporting director.
Berrada has also played a major role in the successful City programme of developing and selling top academy graduates to generate funds to be reinvested in Pep Guardiola’s squad. Cole Palmer, James Trafford and Romeo Lavia are just a few of those who have earned lucrative fees.
Ratcliffe, who finalised Ineos’ acquisition of 29 per cent of United this month, discreetly went about identifying Berrada as the best candidate for the job in recent months. Berrada was then invited to Florida to meet the Glazer siblings, principally Joel, who quickly approved the appointment. He has resigned at City Football Group (CFG), the global network of 12 clubs of which City are the flagship, and is likely to start work at United in the summer.
It represents one of the biggest executive poaching appointments between leading English clubs since Roman Abramovich recruited Peter Kenyon from United as Chelsea’s new chief executive in 2003.
The Telegraph revealed today that Sir Dave Brailsford had officially stepped down as team principal of the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team in order to concentrate on his role at Old Trafford.
Berrada’s appointment suggests that Ineos and Ratcliffe have done their research thoroughly. Berrada was originally regarded as a commercial executive but his move to the football side of the business at CFG has been a major success. He even predates CFG chief executive Ferran Soriano, and with the latter unlikely to move on soon the prospect of the top job at United was a natural step for Berrada.
City confirmed in a statement that Berrada had resigned and that he had made a “decision to look for a new challenge” but did not mention United. The club added that “he [Berrada] leaves with our thanks and best wishes”. Behind the scenes, the club has complete faith in its senior management of chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak; Soriano; director of football Txiki Begiristain; and CFG director of global football, Brian Marwood.
While Berrada was a valued member of that group, there is no sense of panic at City and a replacement will be appointed. City have been clear in private that the parting is amicable. They take as a testament to the strength of their club – current men’s English, European and world champions – that executives are being poached.
In the summer Tottenham appointed CFG chief executive Scott Munn as their new chief football officer. City sources say that the club is confident that they remain years ahead of United in the key aspects of first team under Pep Guardiola as well as recruitment and academy.
Berrada is Paris-born of Moroccan nationality and has worked at Italian internet provider Tiscali as well as at FC Barcelona where he was head of sponsorship from Jan 2004 to August 2011. He joined CFG after Barcelona as head of international business development and held two further senior roles in sales and commercial at CFG before assuming his current role in Sept 2016.
Berrada has been offered a number of senior roles in English football in recent years but only United’s top job was sufficient to tempt him to leave City. He is regarded as first and foremost a football executive with a sales background and is expected to build a new leadership team at Old Trafford. The club has struggled for much of the previous 11 years since the dual departure of Sir Alex Ferguson and then chief executive David Gill.
Berrada is fluent in French, Spanish and Catalan as well as English. He will report to Ratcliffe and Ineos as well as the Glazers. Patrick Stewart will continue in an interim chief executive role in the meantime. United confirmed in a statement that Berrada would be appointed. A spokesperson said: “The club is determined to put football and performance on the pitch back at the heart of everything we do. Omar’s appointment represents the first step on this journey.”
