“A common theme of my career has been to take risks and try things. To be part of a journey which can go well or go badly, but you learn,” Omar Berrada said in a sit down with the EU Business School back in 2021. In swapping near-guaranteed success at Manchester City for an ambitious new project just 5.6 miles down the road at Old Trafford, Berrada has taken on his greatest challenge yet.
Manchester United appointed the 46-year-old as their new chief executive officer on Saturday, sending shockwaves through boardrooms across English football. Berrada, who is set to start his new role in the summer, has spent the last 13 years pulling the strings behind the scenes at City, and without him, they wouldn’t have conquered the Premier League and Champions League.
“The club is determined to put football and performance on the pitch back at the heart of everything we do,” United said in an official statement. “Omar’s appointment represents the first step on this journey.”
INEOS have shown they mean business by luring Berrada away from City. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team are already laying the foundations for future success after purchasing a 25 percent stake at United, with the much-maligned Glazer family finally stepping back from footballing operations.
Berrada’s expertise in all areas of the game will be invaluable, and his arrival is exactly what is needed to stamp out the toxic, player-power culture that has been allowed to breed at Old Trafford over the past decade. United’s new minority owners have made their ambition to turn the Red Devils back into a title-winning club clear, which means mediocrity will no longer be accepted, and the capture of Berrada represents their first move for a best-in-class operator.