Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to reshuffle the structure at Manchester United and the first man to get the axe has been chief executive Richard Arnold, who will remain at the club until the end of the year.
According to BBC Sport, Ratcliffe is likely to appoint former Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain executive Jean-Claude Blanc as Arnold’s replacement once he completes the deal to buy a minority stake at United.
It is believed Ratcliffe’s deal will have to go through a process of being approved by the Premier League before he take position on the board, when he is expected to take full control of football operations at Old Trafford.
Arnold leaves United after 16-years and will forever be known as a Glazer puppet. United fans hope that Ratcliffe means the beginning of the end for the Glazer family at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe is buying 25% of United for £1.25bn, and reports state a deal could be done as early as next week.
Blanc, 60, joined Ineos group in 2022 as chief executive of Ineos Sport to oversee all of the company’s sports portfolio having spent 11 years at PSG.
The Frenchman is expected to take control of the business side of things, while Sir Dave Brailsford operates a significant role on the sporting side. He is a Havard graduate and previously worked for the French Tennis Federation as chief executive before moving into the beautiful game.
Blanc also helped Juventus rebuild after the Serie A giants were relegated in 2006 following the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.
However, it remains to be seen if former AS Monaco transfer guru Paul Mitchell gets a role in the new structure, but our sources assure us he is a leading candidate for one of the key roles.
Crystal Palace’s sporting director Dougie Freedman is another tipped candidate, but that has been played down by Steve Parish in recent days.
Let us know in the comments section who you would like to see join United as part of Ratcliffe’s ‘best in class’ reshuffle.
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