£31m Manchester United player reacts to Richard Arnold exit as CEO leaves

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Victor Lindelof has paid a gracious tribute to Richard Arnold as the former Manchester United CEO announces his departure from the Premier League outfit.

And so begins the Ratcliffe revolution. Big changes behind the scenes at Old Trafford have been anticipated ever since Sir Jim Ratcliffe appeared to strike a deal with the despised Glazer family, and Richard Arnold’s is likely to be first of many heads to roll.

The oft-maligned CEO confirmed his departure from Manchester United on Wednesday morning. And while tears were in short supply amongst a United fanbase crying out for more top-level expertise in the footballing department, it seems that the reaction to Arnold’s exit in the Red Devils dressing room is slightly more sombre.

CEO leaves Manchester United

“I just received an SMS about it. He is a person I like very much,” Lindelof, Man United’s long-serving £31 million centre-half, tells Swedish outfit Fotbollskanalen. “I think he did very well and represented the club in a nice way.

“It is sad that he has to leave. (I will) call or text him later to thank him in person.”

Arnold spent 16 years at United, replacing Ed Woodward as the club’s chief executive in 2022. And while the former largely avoided the sort of vicious criticism which came the way of the latter, his close relationship with the Glazers and his role in the Mason Greenwood saga did little to boost his popularity among a disillusioned fanbase baying for blood.

The likely appointment of Jean-Claude Blanc as Arnold’s replacement – the Frenchman dubbed the brains behind Juventus’ recent success and a key figure in PSG’s rise to prominence – would represent a major step in the right direction towards Manchester United becoming a serious, structed football club once again.

Richard Arnold out and Jean-Claude Blanc in?

“Richard Arnold had been asking for this. He has not exactly set the heather on fire, has he?” Simon Jordan, the former Crystal Palace chairman, tells talkSPORT (15 November, 11am). “To the manner in which he’s handled the Mason Greenwood situation, the Ronaldo situation…

“The commercials around United where they are not quite getting the same deals as before…

“Has he covered himself in any glory? Is it a surprise? Not to me.”