Simon Jordan gives brutal view on Richard Arnold’s Manchester United exit

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CEO Richard Arnold is reportedly set to leave Manchester United with former Premier League owner Simon Jordan hardly surprised by this latest development.

Is this the first sign of Sir Jim Ratcliffe seizing control of the football side of things at Old Trafford? The Ineos chief is set to take over 25 per cent of Manchester United in the coming days, and reports indicating that Jean-Claude Blanc is likely to join Ratcliffe in England’s North West always meant that Richard Arnold’s position was going to come under threat.

Blanc – the brains behind the recent success at Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain – would give United what they have lacked over the last decade of Glazer ownership. Some genuine, top-level footballing expertise behind the scenes.

Blanc, who currently works at INEOS as the head of their sporting activities, is likely to step into the shoes vacated by Arnold.

Richard Arnold set for Manchester United exit

According to the BBC, Arnold is set to leave Old Trafford. His departure coming only a year-and-a-half after replacing the much-maligned Ed Woodward as United’s chief executive. And Jordan, the former Crystal Palace chairman, is not surprised to see Arnold pay with his job, rattling off a series of high-profile failures during the 52-year-old’s time in one of English football’s most high-pressure roles.

“Richard Arnold had been asking for this. He has not exactly set the heather on fire, has he?” Jordan 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.”

Mitchell and Blanc in at Old Trafford?

Ratcliffe, who’s Nice side are unbeaten and sitting top of Ligue 1, could also bring in Paul Mitchell as United’s new director of football. Mitchell is credited with bringing the likes of Heung-Min Son, Sadio Mane and Toby Alderweireld to England.

And United can surely only benefit from hiring men as experienced and as proven as Blanc and Mitchell. Especially considering that the Glazers seem to care little for events on the pitch.

“The Glazers do not care about the day to day running of Manchester United,” Jordan adds. “The football (side) needs to be run by people who understand the core principles of it.”