Manchester United have raided Manchester City for Omar Berrada, the man seemingly viewed as the eventual successor to Txiki Begiristain.
Ineos have made their first major move since taking a 25% stake in United.
United have confirmed the appointment of Omar Berrada as the club’s new CEO, luring him away from rivals Manchester City.
Berrada has been serving as City’s Chief Football Operations Officer since 2016, playing a key role behind the scenes at the Etihad Stadium.
Berrada now heads across Manchester but won’t be able to start work at Old Trafford for a while yet, possibly this summer or even into next season.
Manchester United land Omar Berrada amid Txiki Begiristain succession theory
This feels like a major coup for United with Berrada having experience at two major clubs in City and Barcelona.
Berrada has worked very closely with Txiki Begiristain at both clubs and there has seemingly been a theory around Berrada potentially succeeding Begiristain down the line.
City’s director of football doesn’t look to be leaving any time soon but The Athletic’s Sam Lee has highlighted that ‘everybody assumed’ that Berrada would step up to replace him one day.
Lee noted that the deal has come as a ‘huge huge shock’ with people inside City seemingly believing that he would be ascending at the Etihad Stadium rather than leaving for Old Trafford.
Lee also suggested that Berrada could have been the successor to Ferran Soriano, City’s chief executive, with City seemingly rating Berrada highly.
How City feel about Berrada joining Manchester United
TalkSPORT now claim that City actually view Berrada’s exit as a ‘compliment’ as well as proof of how they have accelerated away from United on and off the pitch.
City allegedly weren’t surprised by interest in Berrada and seemingly hold no ill-feeling towards him despite his move across Manchester.
City’s off-field operations have been highly-regarded for a long time and they have recently seen Scott Munn and Jason Wilcox leave for Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton in recent times.
It seems that City knew Berrada would be a wanted man at some point; whether they really expected a move to United is another matter.
City are trying to take this move graciously, but United may well have spoiled their succession planning by snatching Berrada away from the Etihad Stadium.
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