Omar Berrada’s appointment as the new chief executive at Old Trafford was as impressive as it was secret, and was “shocking” to figures at both Manchester United and Manchester City.
A process which began in December was ruthlessly and efficiently concluded by mid-January, with the club announcing Berrada’s new position last weekend.
In that time, the INEOS Sporting team had identified a best-in-class target at their bitter local rivals; initiated a discreet approach over a series of secretive meetings; convinced this person of the new project underway at Old Trafford and their prospective role in it; agreed a deal with them with the approval of the Glazer family; and announced said deal, all in less than a month.
As first impressions of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS revolution at United go, it’s not a bad one.
The approach to Berrada was led by Sir Dave Brailsford, the Director of Sport at INEOS. Despite initial reports suggesting Jean-Claude Blanc would fulfil this executive role at Old Trafford, the INEOS team had a different plan. Brailsford conducted a thorough examination of the role vacated by the previous incumbent, Richard Arnold. He is said to have consulted many industry experts over who the best possible candidate would be.
Berrada’s name was a consistent answer.
In his extensive time at both City and Barcelona, Berrada has proven himself an efficient and effective operator, on both the commercial and sporting sides of his club’s operations. He is widely-regard and widely-respected at the Etihad, with many sources at the club revealing he would have been a certain successor to current chief executive, Ferran Sorriano, should the opportunity ever arise.
However, Berrada’s personal ambition and drive ensured he could not turn down the certainty of an offer of this role now – even from his club’s local rivals – as opposed to waiting for the distant possibility of the same position at City.
Through these initial probes, Brailsford learned, therefore, of the viability of an approach to Berrada as United’s new chief executive.
A meeting was arranged and conducted before Christmas, which The Athletic reveals left the INEOS director “impressed”. Subsequent secluded meetings were held, including one with both sets of owners at Old Trafford – Ratcliffe and the Glazers (represented by Avram and Joel), where the decision was ultimately approved.
This entire process took place under a strict veil of secrecy. This was so effective, in fact, that many of the senior figures at Old Trafford only learned of their new executive at the same time as the club’s fan base, when The Athletic broke the story on the weekend.
Those included in the covert operation had been planning to reveal the news this Wednesday, giving the club time to perform the necessary preparation for an announcement of this magnitude. However, the accelerated timeline – established following an emergency meeting between the club’s executive branch when the story broke – required the communications department to leap into action in a rushed manner. This meant minor issues were missed.
One such example is in Berrada’s account on X (formerly known as Twitter). The social media pages of new arrivals at Old Trafford are often vetted to avoid any embarrassing historical posts. Owing to the impromptu announcement, the communications team did not have time on Saturday to comb through these, with a number of negative United-related tweets by Berrada surfacing over social media in the hours following the club’s statement.
This is a trivial mistake, however, that The Athletic reveals United officials “could hardly care less” about. Instead, they are believed to be extremely pleased with a well-executed process which even took their local neighbours by surprise.
Though the initial approach to Berrada took place in December, senior figures at the Etihad (including Pep Guardiola) only learned of their executive’s final decision last week. The rest of the club – including the senior squad and coaching staff – found out when the story broke on Saturday. Sources reveal they were “shocked” by the news with The Athletic contending there was “next to no suspicion Berrada was about to jump ship among staff.”
Berrada is said to be aware of his emotionally-charged decision. He’s believed to have “agonised over the decision”, even telling one close friend it was the “toughest he’s ever had to make in his life.” But it was a move too good to turn down. And it’s one which sent shockwaves throughout English football when it was announced.
One senior figure at a Premier League club described the appointment as the “first genuinely elite move” made at Old Trafford in a decade. Another source believes it to be the best signing United have made since a teenage Cristiano Ronaldo touched down in Manchester.
A more in-depth analysis of Berrada by The Peoples Person indicates he is a potential “game-changer” for United. He is expected to be the first of many significant appointments at Old Trafford in the coming months, as Ratcliffe’s revolution begins its early rotations. There was unanimous agreement amongst the executive branch at Old Trafford, however, that the chief executive was the “most important appointment the club can make.”
The initial signs suggest they appear to have landed one of the best possible options for the role. The fact they did so while poaching him from their bitter local rivals will have been the sweetest of cherries on top.
