With Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 25% stake in Manchester United finally agreed, the football bods, business experts and fans alike are all now wondering what the club will look like under the British billionaire’s regime, but there’s also another important name newly appointed at the helm: Sir Dave Brailsford.
While most of the headlines have naturally revolved around the big-money man and primary deal-maker, who has reportedly spent around £1.3 billion to purchase his chunk of shares and a seat on the Man United board, Dave Brailsford joining the club’s executive team is also hugely significant.
Officially starting in his capacity on United‘s football board on New Year’s Eve 2023, just days after sitting in the stands to watch the Red Devils’ 3-2 comeback against Aston Villa, the 59-year-old has already set about meeting staff, touring the facilities and taking a look under the bonnet, so to speak.
Part of the reason that his arrival is of such interest comes not only as a result of his seniority and proximity as Ratcliffe‘s de-facto right-hand man but because unless you had prior knowledge of his CV or INEOS and their sporting division’s key figures, most people are relatively unaware of who he is.
Sir David John Brailsford CBE is a British sports coach with a long and decorated career in cycling, helping Team GB net a remarkable total of 14 Olympic medals in 2008, taking home eight gold medals for British Cycling at both Beijing and London 2012. He was ultimately knighted for his efforts in 2013.
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After this first wave of success, he was then put in charge of the Team Sky cycling team which featured the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas and went on to win eight Grand Tours before the team name was rebranded as the INEOS Grenadiers in 2019. Short version: they’ve won a lot.
Across both iterations under the ownership of Ratcliffe’s conglomerate (the fourth biggest chemical engineering company in the world, estimated to turnover £50bn a year), Brailsford enjoyed a decade of dominance as Team Principal before being made Director of Sport at INEOS in December 2021.
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Sir Dave Brailsford’s background might be predominantly in cycling, but he’s more than dabbled in football since heading up INEOS Sport.
Having been put in charge of all sporting activities including cycling, sailing (INEOS Britannia), football — OGC Nice in France, Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport and now United) — rugby (All Blacks’ official ‘Performance Partner’) and Formula 1 (co-owner of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team), the Derbyshire-born sports performance director is being entrusted with the Premier League project.
What is Braislford’s role at Manchester United?
With United being folded into the existing INEOS Sports portfolio, Brailsford will continue his role across all disciplines and is expected that an outright sporting director will be appointed to oversee the football side of things at Old Trafford, specifically — of which Ratcliffe and co. have been given ‘full control’ of.
Although John Murtough is currently in post and has been since March 2021, it is thought he will depart the club once INEOS takes over, having faced plenty of criticism over Man United’s transfer policy in that time, including an apparent row with Sir Alex Ferguson over failing to sign Jude Bellingham.
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Names linked with the job include Dougie Freedman (Crystal Palace), Paul Mitchell, who has worked with the likes of (Spurs, RB Leipzig), as well as Dan Ashworth (Brighton, Newcastle), with some reports suggesting the latter two could come in as sporting director and head of recruitment, respectively.
Either way, whoever is given the job will then report to Brailsford and the business magnate from Failsworth above them, who make up what is effectively being touted as a trio of executive board members strictly tasked with footballing matters. So who makes up the third element of that trifecta?
Who else is taking control of footballing operations at Man United?
Whilst Patrick Stewart (no, not the bloke from Star Trek) has been put in charge on an interim basis following the departure of Richard Arnold, the club is still on the hunt for a new full-time CEO and, for all intents and purposes, that individual looks to be Jean-Claude Blanc.
The French businessman and sports executive is best known for his time serving on the board at both Juventus and PSG — his time in Paris coinciding with the Qatari takeover in 2011 and the start of their Ligue 1 supremacy — but more recently joined Ratcliffe’s ranks and
Being made CEO of INEOS Sports in December 2022, like Brailsford, Blanc has become one of the new United owner’s closest confidants and looks set to be installed as the new CEO imminently.
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With the January transfer window now open and the final details of Ratcliffe’s deal soon to be fully ratified by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), the club will be hoping to put all these puzzle pieces in place sooner rather than later.
Once again, full confirmation of all these particulars is still pending and, by the terms of their current agreement, the Glazers could still technically buy out Ratcliffe before he even gets going, so the next few months could prove critical for Manchester United.
Featured Images — Sky Sports/The Manc Group/INEOS (via YouTube)
Sport
Jamie Carragher fires back at journalist after being turned away from Etihad away end
Danny Jones
Jamie Carragher has fired back at a tabloid journalist after he reported on the ex-footballer being turned away from the Borussia Dortmund away end during their meeting against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium this week.
The former Liverpool and England player was reporting on the Champions League match as part of his usual ‘Golazo’ duties for the US on Wednesday, 5 November, and was hoping to join in with travelling fans during the game.
Carragher became part of the ‘yellow wall’ last year during their UCL fixture against Chelsea, being adopted as a Dortmund supporter for the day, but was not granted the same privilege upon arriving at the Etihad this time around.
Daily Mail journalist Mike Keegan wrote a piece explaining how the working presenter was turned away due to safety concerns raised by security at Man City, but the 47-year-old has now given his own retort.
Just trying to have a good time with the Dortmund fans Mike, it was no problem it wasn’t allowed. Next time message me & I’ll tell you all you need to know, rather than Simon at Man City giving you a story. Probably explains why you’re so sympathetic around the 115 charges.
As you can see, the retired defender turned Sky Sports and CBS pundit was less than pleased with the piece, clarifying that there was “no problem” over the decision, asking instead why he didn’t contact him directly for a comment.
In addition to seemingly naming names, he also couldn’t resist the urge as a rival Red to take a jab at City’s ever-looming FFP breaches, suggesting that the outlet has been somewhat biased in its coverage of the ongoing saga.
However, Keegan didn’t let the spat pass without his own right of reply.
Reacting directly underneath the response, the sports writer added: “I already knew the facts, Jamie, but you clearly don’t.
“Next time you’re covering a game at City, you should probably apologise to Simon for wrongly accusing him of being the source on the story.”
Either way, this is as far as Carragher got on his way to the ground:
While it is still unclear as to who exactly ‘Carra’ and Keegan are referring to in their exchange, many have speculated that it could be Simon Pearce: a non-executive director at the club and part of the CFG (City Football Group) board; he has been tied to the ongoing allegations of financial deception.
Onto the action pitchside, not only did scoring machine Erling Haaland come back to haunt his former team once again, but the Blues ran, maybe not riot, but much closer to their vintage best, with Stockport’s very own bagging a brace and Rayan Cherki scoring his first UCL goal under Pep Guardiola.
Professional cricketer wins University Campus of Football Business grand prize at Old Trafford
Danny Jones
British cricketer, Marie Kelly, has won the prestigious University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) Sports Entrepreneur Competition for 2025.
Winning the whopping grand prize of up to £50,000, the Blaze – Nottinghamshire women’s team, formerly known as ‘Lightning’ – and Northern Superchargers star took home the potentially game-changing investment for her own apparel company, Versatail.
Being given the substantial grant late last month, the professional cricket player was presented as the lucky recipient following an intense deliberation process.
Expert judges chose the Birmingham-born young businesswoman from a shortlist of nine finalists selected from countless submissions.
At 29, Kelly fell just within the eligible 18-30 age bracket for the new UFCB Sports Entrepreneur Competition, with 2025 marking a decade of the further education institution here in Manchester.
Held at Man United’s home stadium, Old Trafford, it’s safe to say that the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ felt like a fitting venue to deliver news.
The judging panel was comprised of UCFB Founder, Brendan Flood; Andrea Chilton, CEO of the English Schools Football Association; Eni Shabani, Founder of Rising Ballers; Adrian Harris, Chief Supply Chain Officer of Castore, as well as the CEO of Altrincham FC, Sam Mackenzie.
As the founder of Versatail UK, which specialises in women’s and active headwear, including lifestyle caps and bobble hats, Kelly has taken her sporting background to create products that cater specifically to long hair and female-centric styling.
For instance, her label has helped oversee the design ‘Magni-Strip®’ trademarked technology, which allows people to adjust their ponytail heights.
Learn more about the inspiration behind the project here:
Votes were based on five criteria: market opportunity, innovation of the idea, feasibility, the pitch quality, and sustainability/impact of the idea.
Other runners-up included a non-league football app called Touchline, and even an anti-bacterial boxing glove liner conceived by a brand specialist at Amazon.
Speaking on the momentous milestone for her still relatively small start-up, Kelly said: “My main emotion is shock. I really didn’t think I would win – I was here for the experience.
The process really helped me strategise the business and really think about where I wanted to go with it. To be named the overall winner, I’m really delighted.”
“The financial prize takes a bit of the weight off my mind about how to supply the demand that I’ve already got for my products and my caps. Hopefully, I can just really develop the product so it’s even better and service even more women and girls in sports.”
As for UCFB, aforementioned CEO Flood went on to add: “As we celebrate 10 years in Manchester, we want to celebrate not just our own journey but empower the young entrepreneurs who will shape the future of sport.
“This competition reflected everything UCFB stands for: ambition, innovation, and the belief that the sports industry is powered by creative ideas. The calibre of the entries was incredible, so everyone who made the final judging stage deserves immense credit, but Marie was the unanimous choice overall.
“She has done an incredible job establishing her brand, and we hope that this financial reward can help Versatail continue to cater for the diverse needs of women and girls in sport at an even greater scale.
You can see the full video from the most recent event down below.
If you’re looking to make moves in this space, keep your eye out for when entries open for the UCFB Entrepreneur prize in 2026.
Danny Jones -
3rd January 2024 
