Man Utd 'made embarrassing error' when appointing Omar Berrada after 'running out of time'

Manchester United made an embarrassing error when appointing Omar Berrada, it has been claimed.

United have appointed Berrada from rivals Manchester City as their new chief executive, having been searching for a new CEO since Richard Arnold’s departure.

Barrada, whose appointment is said to have been driven by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS, has played a central role in City success on and off the pitch in the past few years.

Berrada has had past success in the football and commercial side of the game at City and Barcelona, while he brokered deals that saw the likes of Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish sign for the blue side of Manchester.

While it’s an appointment that has been widely lauded, the Athletic has claimed its announcement had not gone as smoothly as hoped. The club’s communications department allegedly had to rush into action and prepare statements announcing the executive’s imminent hiring.

United wanted to reveal the news on their own terms this week, with Wednesday said to have been pencilled in for an official announcement.

However, the publication claims everything was pushed forward, meaning United could not trawl through Berrada’s social media accounts as planned and flag the historic United-related tweets that quickly came to light.

Last week, tweets emerged, posted over a decade ago, in which Berrada wondered whether Bayern Munich deserved to win the 1999 Champions League final over United, as well as another in which the Spaniard said he hoped for a United defeat in a game against Chelsea.

The Athletic said United could “not care less” about the emergence of said tweets.

Upon the announcement, a United statement said: "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."