New Man Utd chief faces awkward meeting as critical social media post resurfaces
Manchester United's new CEO once claimed the club "deserved" to lose the 1999 Champions League final to Bayern Munich.
United confirmed Omar Berrada as their CEO on Saturday ahead of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's takeover. Ratcliffe has agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in the club and will take charge of football operations, although the deal still needs to be ratified by the Premier League.
Patrick Stewart was United's acting CEO after Richard Arnold stepped down last year. Berrada has left Manchester City to take up his new role at United. He was the chief football operations of the City Football Group (CFG), who own the English champions.
Berrada is one of the most respected executives in football, having worked at Barcelona for nearly eight years. He joined CFG in 2011 and was promoted to chief operating officer five years later to work closely with City's director of football Txiki Begiristain.
Luring Berrada away from the Etihad and to Old Trafford is a huge coup for Ratcliffe and United, but fans were quick to dig up one of his old posts on X - formerly Twitter. United's newest employee had commented on their famous victory against Bayern in Barcelona 25 years ago.
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Mario Basler opened the scoring for Bayern in the Champions League final before Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored in added time to snatch the victory. United's win completed a memorable Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble.
That triumph is regarded as one of United's finest, but Berrada believes Bayern deserved to win. He wrote on X in 2013: "Watching the Man Utd vs Bayern 1999 UCL final on ESPN Classic. I had forgotten how much Bayern really deserved to win that match."
United fans were stunned by the post and have urged Berrada to delete it. Yet all will be forgotten if the club's new CEO overseas their return to the top of English football. United haven't won a Premier League title since 2013 and are desperate to end their wait.
Berrada's post from 2013 has come back to haunt himWhat do you make of Manchester United's new appointment? Let us know in the comments below!
"The club is determined to put football and performance on the pitch back at the heart of everything we do," read United's statement. "Omar’s appointment represents the first step on this journey."
United have described Berrada as "one of the most experienced football executives at the top of European football" with "a proven record of successful leadership and a passion to help lead change across the club". His start date is yet to be confirmed, but Mirror Football understands his notice period at City won't end until the summer.
United's statement continued: "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."
As for City, they have said: "The club understands his (Berrada's) decision to look for a new challenge and he leaves with our thanks and best wishes."
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