‘Manchester United: how did they get into this mess?’ Old tweets emerge after new CEO Omar Berrada joins from rivals City

Manchester United’s new CEO is already under scrutiny after joining the club from local rivals Manchester City as a series of critical social media posts emerged on Saturday.

Reports earlier in the day indicated that United were set to appoint Omar Berrada, with the news confirmed later on.

“Manchester United is pleased to announce the appointment of Omar Berrada as its new CEO,” United said in a statement. “The Club is determined to put football and performance on the pitch back at the heart of everything we do. Omar’s appointment represents the first step on this journey.

“As one of the most experienced football executives at the top of European football, Omar brings a wealth of football and commercial expertise, with a proven record of successful leadership and a passion to help lead change across the Club.

“It is our stated ambition to re-establish Manchester United as a title-winning club. We are pleased that Omar will be joining us to help achieve that goal, so that, once again, United fans can see, in the words of Sir Matt Busby, the red flag flying high at the summit of English, European and world football. Omar’s start date will be confirmed in due course; in the meantime, Patrick Stewart will continue as interim CEO.”

In a statement on Saturday, City said: “Manchester City Football Club can confirm that Omar Berrada has resigned from his role as chief football operations officer at City Football Group.

“The club understands his decision to look for a new challenge and he leaves with our thanks and best wishes.”

On his Twitter account (now X), Berrada shared an article from The Guardian back in 2014 with the caption: “Manchester United: How did they get into this mess?”

In another post, he suggested United had been fortunate to win the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich. “Watching the Man Utd vs Bayern 1999 UCL final on ESPN Classic,” he wrote. “I had forgotten how much Bayern really deserved to win that match.”

He also compared United legend George Best to Argentina great Lionel Messi, but said that the Nothern Irish attacker “didn’t hit his full potential”.

Despite all of that, Berrada’s recruitment appears to signal real intent and ambition for United as Sir Jim Ratcliffe sets about reshaping the club’s football operations following a prolonged period of underachievement with the Glazers.

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