Rio Ferdinand shares what Man City can’t believe about Manchester Uniteds new COE

Rio Ferdinand shares what Man City can’t believe about Manchester Uniteds new COE

Rio Ferdinand claims to have been informed by ‘guys at Man City’ that Manchester United’s appointment of Omar Berrada as their new CEO has come as a massive surprise to the reigning Premier League champions.

 

 

2023 Treble winners or not, you can’t buy aura. Manchester United, just weeks into the INEOS era and before Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority takeover has even been ratified by the Premier League, have just snatched one of the most important cogs in the well-oiled Man City machine from under the noses of their North West neighbours.

 

Much to the surprise, it seems, of those in blue. Some at Man City were reportedly under the impression that Berrada – once of Barcelona and one of the sharpest minds in world football – would eventually have taken the reigns from Txiki Begiristain as the director of football at the Etihad Stadium. No longer. Best laid plans and all that.

 

Instead, he is now tasked with masterminding with, as that already-infamous Man United statement explains, putting ‘football and performance on the pitch back at the heart of everything we do’.

 

Leicester City v Manchester City – Carabao Cup: Quarter Final

Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images

Manchester United snatch Omar Berrada from Man City

 

“I spoke to some guys who are at City,” Rio Ferdinand, a six-time Premier League champion with the Red Devils, tells Vibe with Five. “They can’t believe we’ve got him. They think ‘wow’.

 

“He’s done so much in the game, at different levels. And he’s been successful. And it’s a really good, sharp signing for us.

 

“I think this could potentially be one of our best January signings, from the current climate especially.”

 

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‘Wow’

It’s no secret the Red Devils have been crying out for genuinely elite-level operators behind the scenes. It’s fair to say that is changing, and changing fast.

 

 

In the space of just a few months, Manchester United have gone from John Murtough and Richard Arnold to Sir Dave Brailsford, Jean-Claude Blanc and Omar Berrada. Three men with a proven and hugely succesful track record at the top level of sport.

 

With a CEO in situ, focus will now switch to bringing in a ‘best in class’ sporting director. Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth is a leading target. And, while the Magpies may be confident (at least publicly) that Ashworth is going nowhere, it’s fair to say City weren’t expecting to lose Berrada either…