A file photo of Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe and former manager Alex Ferguson in the stands before a match.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, INEOS chairman, British billionaire and businessman extraordinaire, acquired 25 per cent of his boyhood club Manchester United for £1.3 billion, which the club confirmed around Christmas. And since doing so, he and his team have been making some moves that has the football world thinking that Man United might just be back.
But what exactly has he been doing? Here’s an overview of United’s ongoing overhaul by Sir Jim and INEOS:
Hierarchy makeover and restructuring:
With Ratcliffe's purchase confirmed, United now have a 3-man committee that will oversee the entire operations of the club, both on the business and sporting side. This committee will comprise of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, INEOS Director of Sport Sir David Brailsford and current executive co-chairman Joel Glazer.
Sir Jim has also handed his 2 board seats to Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc
Sir Dave Brailsford comes in with a phenomenal CV in sports, with his philosophy of marginal gains being hailed across all sports. He also has experience with football, having overseen the operations of the French team OGC Nice and Swiss team FC Lausanne-Sport as INEOS Director of Sport.
Jean-Claude Blanc is also a highly rated sports and football executive, having headed the golden era of Juventus, and then built PSG as a global brand. He took over as the CEO of INEOS football operations in 2019 and had been working with OGC Nice.
Future Direction Dialogue with Players and Staff:
On January 5, Sir Jim and Sir Dave met United players and staff at Carrington. It was part of Ineos conducting an early reconnaissance to gauge the performance challenge required to make United a credible force again. They also shared their vision for the club with those present.
The meeting left a great impression on the players, coach and staff, who now look forward to the long overdue revamp of Man United.
"We had a long meeting, so many hours we sat together. On many issues we were on the same page, very positive from both sides. I can say that it was a very constructive meeting and we're looking forward to working with each other." said manager Erik ten Hag.
The Berrada Heist:
The first real show of power and intention by the new hierarchy came on January 5, when Man United announced that the then Man City Chief Operating Officer (COO) Omar Berrada as the new Man United CEO.
He will replace the interim CEO Patrick Stewart, who took over after Richard Arnold stepped down from the role in November 2023. Sir Dave Brailsford played a big role in convincing him to head the United project.
This move sent shockwaves throughout the football world. Omar Berrada was part of building the 2023 treble winning Man City team and overseeing the operations of the City Group clubs. That he jumped shipped to their arch-rivals when they came calling, was a big statement of intent by INEOS.
Touted within the City Group as the presumptive successor to the current CEO Ferran Soriano, he will now help INEOS rebuild United and establish INEOS' multi-club structure in Europe with OGC Nice and FC Lausanne-Sport.
Embracing Youth, Courage, Success:
United hired the Ipswich head of recruitment Sam Williams to lead the recruitment drive at the club for players aged between 17 and 21, as part of the new plan to transform the already elite academy of United.
Williams arrived from Ipswich with a sterling reputation where he became a part of the setup that, along with another former United coach Kieran Mckenna, is defying expectations at Ipswich.
At United, he will become the lead scout and report to Head of Academy Recruitment, Luke Fedorenko.
Fedorenko is also a fairly recent hire at the club as United have aimed to revamp their youth setup as well.
Appointing a Seasoned Director of Football
One of the biggest sticking points for United fans over the years has been that the Red Devils have lacked a proper sporting director. Post SAF, the business minded Ed Woodward oversaw the entire club. Even when a director of sport, it was John Murtough, also a business executive that was promoted to the sporting side role.
INEOS plans to change that. On February 5, the Athletic reported that Man United had approached Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth for the role of sporting director.
In a similar vein to the appointments so far by Sir Jim, Dan Ashworth boasts a spectacular resume. Notably he played a role in the rise of West Bromwich Albion to the Premier League, helped create England’s current golden generation of footballers and established Brighton as a club that regularly competes in Europe. Since leaving Brighton, he has been overseeing the Saudi-owned Newcastle project.
All indications point toward the Englishman leaving The Magpies for Old Trafford, though it remains to be seen if Newcastle let him go, and if they do, for how much.
These are just a few of the strategic maneuvers orchestrated by the INEOS team on behalf of United.
Initially met with skepticism from United fans when Sir Jim announced a minor stake acquisition, there is now ample evidence to suggest that Sir Jim is serious about transforming the club. Now that the purchase has been ratified by the PL and FA, INEOS will likely make more bold moves to grow United back to the SAF era heights.
With this newfound assurance, fans are increasingly optimistic about United's resurgence among Europe's elite in the near future.