Omar Berrada and John Lennon: the new CEO of Manchester United and the late Beatles superstar are apparently kindred spirits.
This is what Berrada himself says, the Paris-born Moroccan who was a Barcelona fan in his youth. His poaching from Manchester City by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the 27.7% United owner and controller of football policy, has been a shock to the champions’ hierarchy and is seen as an industry coup.
Berrada quoted a line from Lennon’s song Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) – “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” – when he said in an interview with the EU Business School that he study had been transferred to the campus in Barcelona. one year, but ended up staying in Catalonia for thirteen years before joining City in 2011.
Related: Swagger, soul… and patience: inside Ratcliffe’s plans for Manchester United | Sean Ingle
The initial decision was partly so that he could ‘watch good football’ at Barcelona during his graduation, which he did in 1999 before meeting his future wife at a first job at the telecommunications company Tiscali. From there, Berrada was hired as Barça’s head of sponsorship in 2004. On his second day he was told that Catalan was the club’s “official language” – so he learned it.
Seven years later, City looked for Berrada to take charge of international development. He became Chief Operating Officer in 2016 and when United hired him in January, he worked, as he has been since 2020, as COO for the twelve teams under the City Football Group umbrella.
Berrada’s departure to fierce cross-town rivals came as a bombshell Observer was told by a person familiar with the city government. Berrada was instrumental in building the slick operation at the Etihad Stadium but says he faces a huge challenge at United. Stefan Borsona former City financial advisor.
Borson first points out how Berrada must manage a host of potential leaders: Ratcliffe himself; the Ineos owner’s two key lieutenants, Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc; and the six Glazer siblings, whose majority ownership is led by Florida-based executive co-chairmen, Joel and Avram.
“The big challenge is the number of voices and opinions around the table,” says Borson. “Berrada has been appointed CEO, but there are two executive co-chairs – which is immediately unusual. Most CEOs won’t have to work for less than two years, especially if they’re not on site in the UK. Then you have a completely different infrastructure from Ratcliffe, Brailsford, Blanc.”
Ratcliffe has made one key decision without Berrada’s material input while Berrada is on gardening leave ahead of an expected start in the summer, meaning he will have to watch tomorrow’s derby from afar. He has appointed Dan Ashworth as head of football, on the condition that he agrees compensation with Newcastle United.
The Observer understands that Berrada was made aware of the intention to hire Ashworth during discussions with Ratcliffe and the Glazers regarding his possible appointment as CEO, and that this was in line with his view on who should replace John Murtough in the role.
Ratcliffe’s camp has also expressed a desire to turn United’s home ground into the “Wembley of the North” by revamping Old Trafford or building a new stadium on the site. “Look how visible Ratcliffe already is,” Borson adds.
‘He’s clearly talking to Andy Burnham [mayor of Greater Manchester] about the stadium. He is hiring a football director and that will probably be before Berrada arrives because he is on garden leave. Ashworth has apparently been told that he will have sufficient decision-making power. So the scene isn’t conducive to being the “top dog” for Berrada. That’s a challenge. It’s not insurmountable, and he clearly knew that before he took on the role.”
Berrada has the skills to handle it all, according to more than one person who has observed his work at City. He has been characterized as sympathetic but not overly so and as someone with expertise in transfers and player contracts. He also understands commercial opportunities and the systems, physical infrastructure and people that make up a club.
When Berrada first managed City’s non-football operations, the deals Berrada brokered in 2014 included a multi-million pound contract that made Nissan a global partner. He later became responsible for the club’s structural operations before moving into the rarefied realm of football operations, first for City and then for CFG.
Berrada has been compared to David Gill, United’s chief executive for ten years until 2013, who worked alongside Sir Alex Ferguson during the club’s most successful decade, which saw six Premier League titles, one Champions League, one FA Cup, three League Cups and the Club World Championship were claimed. Here, however, Berrada has another challenge, identified by those with knowledge of both clubs.
At City, the chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the CEO, Ferran Soriano, the sporting director, Txiki Begiristain, and Pep Guardiola, the most prominent manager of the generation, are allowed to run the club without interference. Berrada does not run in a best-in-class structure. Instead, the demand is to rebuild United virtually from the ground up.
Borson says: “The first thing I would do is listen. For a month, maybe two, three. Walk around the organization and listen to everyone. Ignore prejudices. Actually, keep all the people we’ve talked about out of the way to get my own take on what’s going on in the club.
“We all hear that United are in a mess. From the outside it looks like they have problems at all levels. He needs to find out what those problems are because if he can’t identify them he can’t solve them. most junior to most senior [employees].”
Another person who has worked for City and United for a number of years believes Berrada took the job due to a number of factors. There is a huge opportunity to turn United around, the lucrative wages and bonuses on offer, and the ceiling at City where, unless Begiristain and Soriano leave, he could not rise further.
Borson agrees. “It’s a no-brainer. [He’s] Maybe I’m going to United at the absolute perfect time in the last 40 years.”
As Berrada has said before, “Challenge yourself – get out of your comfort zone, because it will grow you personally and professionally.”
United observers will have to wait and see whether Berrada is up to the task of reviving a behemoth of a club that has plateaued since Ferguson’s departure. A key test will be achieving new agility in the transfer market, where United have operated at a glacial pace of late.
The months-long and ultimately fruitless pursuit of Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong in the summer of 2022 is one example in a long list of failed moves. Compare this with City and, for example, the few days it took to sign Jérémy Doku from Rennes last August. Part of the problem is that United’s slowness means their goals are leaked.
Borson says: “Anyone who is unhappy or feels wronged is going to speak up [to the media]. Berrada needs to get them out. It has to be: ‘This is who we are now. This is my new start. I’m in charge.’” In time, we will discover just how much power Berrada has.