Surprise in
England
.
On a weekend with few games in the
Premier League
, the two greats of
Manchester who are not playing make a statement:
Manchester City
's Chief of Operations
leaves the club to be the new CEO of
United
.
He is also a Spaniard very close to
Pep Guardiola
.
Bombshell.
His name is
Omar Berrada
, and although he is not known by the general football public, he is one of the many silent heroes behind sports processes that become successful.
But not one more
.
He arrived before Pep on British soil, and was part of this rise to glory for those in light blue, current world champions.
Previously, he had spent eight years in the offices of
Barcelona FC
, working behind the scenes of that team that won everything and played like no other.
That resume was what captivated United.
"Manchester City gave him everything and now he betrays him to go to United," wrote the Catalans from
Mundo Deportivo
upon learning of the news.
There they talk about Berrada as one of the key men of the team that won the long-awaited
Champions League
in Istanbul in 2023.
Guardiola mentioned his name in 2022, when he signed for two more years at City, a renewal that will have him at the head of his bench until mid-2025. “I can't be in a better place.
In these seven years we were in bad, bad times, and the organization, starting with Khaldoon, the CEO Ferran Soriano, of course Txiki and Omar, the people close to me, supported me in these bad times.
This is what really counts." That Omar is this Omar.
He was "one of the key and most trusted men" in the club, they say in Spain and England about this COO,
Chief Operations Officer
, as they call him there, who will now be CEO,
Chief Executive Officer
, which would imply a promotion in his football management career.
But in addition to acronyms, Berrada changes his shirt.
🚨🔵 OFFICIAL: Manchester City can confirm Omar Berrada has resigned from his role as chief football operations officer at City Football Group.
🔴 Berrada will join Manchester United as new CEO.
Decision made as he informed #MCFC during talks, as per @David_Ornstein.
pic.twitter.com/ObtEWdcTk5
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 20, 2024
As revealed by
The Athletic
, the Catalan has everything arranged to join United.
The position had been vacant since
Richard Arnold
decided to leave the entity in February 2022, after 16 years at the club, and from that moment on he was filled on an interim basis.
This process occurred in the middle of the entry of the INEOS group to the Red Devils.
Of course, the transfer must have the "ok" of the Premier League, something that is discounted because Berrada has already resigned from his duties at City, as confirmed by The Athletic.
In addition to his role at Manchester City, Berrada has been involved in initiatives aimed at strengthening the club's global presence in the world, especially in international business development and brand expansion.
His departure occurs in the middle of the season, a situation that causes internal turbulence in any institution and especially one that has the eyes of the world focused on it, like City.
On a sporting level, Pep Guardiola's team is going through a key moment in the Premier League, involved in the fight for the championship with at least four other teams, and just waiting for the start of the Champions League round of 16, where they will face FC Copenhagen in a round-trip series that begins Tuesday, February 13.