As the club’s owners finalise the sale of a minority stake to billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, it has been confirmed that chief executive Richard Arnold will step down from his role at Manchester United. Arnold has been part of the organization for 16 years, and is to leave after two rowdy years as chief executive.
“It has been an incredible privilege to serve this great football club for the past 16 years. Through highs and lows, the constant has been the dedication of our employees and fans. I would like to thank all of them for their loyalty and commitment, and wish everyone associated with the club the very best for the future.” Arnold stated.
Arnold will transfer operational control of United to interim CEO Patrick Stewart. This shake-up may not have an immediate effect on the Premier League as a whole for now, but it will immediately affect one of the most prestigious clubs in the league. Arnold’s time as CEO is considered to be a successful stint, as United won their first hardware in six years by crushing rivals Newcastle to win the EFL Cup.
The 52-year-old’s efforts are certainly valued by the Glazer family and the corporation as a whole. “I would like to thank Richard for his outstanding service to Manchester United over the past 16 years, and wish him all the best for his future endeavours” executive co-chairman Joel Glazer said to the press.
Who is new boss at Old Trafford?
In recent Premier League 2023 news, in a £1.3 billion deal with the Glazer family, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of INEOS, appears to be set to acquire more than 25% of Manchester United. Sir Ratcliffe fended off Qatari investors, who wanted full autonomy for the club. The 71-year-old exclaims that he would be spearheading an overhaul of the club’s management, as he also wants to manage United’s football operations.
Who are INEOS? Ratcliffe established the multinational chemicals business INEOS, a British company, in 1998. It has now expanded to rank among the biggest chemical enterprises in the world. They have been known to dip into in the sports industry, and Manchester United won’t be the first team owned by INEOS. The company owns Nice, who are striving in Ligue 1, and they also own FC Lausanne-Sport in the Swiss Super League.
In fact, they also dabble outside of football, as INEOS are also partners with the All Blacks and part-owners of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team. But among all their investments in the sports and entertainment industries, their acquisition of Manchester United might be the grandest of them all.
“You can’t really contemplate acquiring a brand like Manchester United and failing because the failure is just far too public and excruciating in a deal like that.” Ratcliffe said in an interview for INEOS.TV.
What does this mean for Ten Hag?
This change in leadership could definitely go either way for the club, and most of the pressure is on United’s manager, Erik ten Hag. Before the shake-up at Old Trafford began, Ten Hag’s future with the club was already in question.
The Manchester United manager has done great things for the club ever since he took the job. Under him, United went on to win the EFL Cup, compete in the FA Cup final, and finish in the top-three in the Premier League. But everything went south this season, as Ten Hag’s team is facing its worst start to their campaign in 51 years.
With this, ol’ Ten Hag is determined to make big changes to his roster in January. In that timeframe, the deal involving Ratcliffe will have already transpired, and it seems like Ratcliffe will back Ten Hag with a big transfer budget to push through with their roster changes. If their moves in January prove to be successful, expect a boost to their SBOTOP Premier League 2023 odds as well.
“Despite the difficulties of the first few weeks of the season, Ten Hag remains very confident and will be using the international break to try and work with the wider squad.” A united source said in an interview.
The Red Devils are slowly climbing their way back into top contention in the Premier League; having won four of their last five contests, they are now sixth on the league table with 21 points. Manchester United are currently the most in-form club in the Premier League, but they are struggling in the Champions League, where they are dead last in Group A. They need to win their last two games to even be in contention for the Europa League group stage.
“Even after all the setbacks we dealt with, we are still in a position, close to the top four. And when we start to play well, when we get it done, a team that is set for couple of weeks and months. Also, other teams will get setbacks and will also drop points.” Ten Hag told reporters.
“Now, we won our last four games from five in the Premier League, which is good. We are actually in a quite good position, if you oversee all the trouble we have had, we are in a very good position.”
Manchester United fans and the entire football world will have to wait and see what’s in store for the Dutchman. But with all the topsy-turvy motions at Old Trafford, continuity and stability at the helm wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
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