Man Utd takeover: ‘Great survivor’ Murtough could stay despite ‘tempestuous scenes’ with Ferguson
Man Utd football director John Murtough could stay at Old Trafford once Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment in the club goes through, according to reports.
Ratcliffe is still waiting for his deal to buy 25 per cent of the Premier League club to go through with claims today that he is confident there will be a ‘resolution’ before Christmas with ‘fresh impetus’ injected.
The minority investor is expected to take over football operations when the investment is ratified with the British billionaire looking to complete an overhaul of the recruitment department.
Murtough has been partly responsible for a number of poor transfer decisions made by Man Utd in recent seasons with the Red Devils announcing in November that Richard Arnold has stepped down from his role as chief executive, with Patrick Stewart taking interim control as a permanent successor is sought.
One report in November claimed Murtough is ‘definitely’ leaving when Ratcliffe completes his deal for the club, while another just a day later insisted that the football director ‘expects to be part of Ineos era’.
The Athletic claim that after meetings between Sir Dave Brailsford, Stewart and Murtough ‘went well’ that ‘no decision has yet been made’ over whether the latter will stay on or not.
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The report claims:
‘Responsibility for instilling greater methodology and value for money falls to Ratcliffe, who will task Brailsford with investigating processes and recommending improvements.
‘Industry sources say Brailsford is aiming to appoint a sporting director to oversee operations as well as a transfer specialist to refine recruitment. This has been interpreted by some as terminal for Murtough, and some people at the club anticipate his departure eventually, but sources insist no decision has yet been made.
‘Unlike Arnold, who agreed to walk away as chief executive owing to the changing ownership structure and issues with co-chairman Joel Glazer, Murtough has no intention of stepping aside.
‘He has made clear his openness to staying and working with INEOS as part of a revised structure that could see his authority reduced, which former and current colleagues say is characteristic of a shrewd political operator.
‘Murtough is seen by those who have worked with him as a great survivor, more amenable and less egotistic than other executives in his position who would reject operating under a new regime.
‘One leading agent, not known for handing out easy praise, says Murtough is courteous and good to deal with. That range of views helps explain Murtough’s presence this month at Old Trafford alongside Stewart for meetings with Brailsford and INEOS sporting director Jean-Claude Blanc. The feeling was those meetings went well.’
Legendary Man Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson – who left the club in 2013 – still has a big influence at Old Trafford and The Athletic has claimed that the Scot and Murtough did not get on.
‘There was, however, one influential person at the club who did not warm to Murtough: Sir Alex Ferguson. The tension between the pair exists to this day. One of the early issues related to Murtough surviving Moyes, the man who had brought him to the club, and growing influential after his sacking in April 2014.
‘As Ferguson’s authority at the club he had managed for 26 years began to subside, Murtough’s power grew. Woodward appointed him as head of football development in 2016 and asked him to reshape United’s recruitment system and academy setup.’
On Murtough and Ferguson’s relationship, The Athletic continued:
‘There were also tempestuous scenes involving Murtough and Ferguson. United’s greatest manager was enlisted by [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer to assist on the charm offensive for the Carrington visit of Birmingham City midfielder Jude Bellingham in March 2020. Solskjaer and his assistants had prepared an analytical presentation to prove Bellingham’s prospects in the first team, as well as compiling detailed personal reports, and felt Ferguson would add a glamorous finish.
‘Murtough had a different view of how to approach the sales pitch, however. Ferguson shook hands with Bellingham, 16 at the time, but rather than allow them time to talk, sources say Murtough guided the player and his parents out of the room for a tour of the facilities.
‘Ferguson was reportedly incandescent at the perceived slight and said so to Murtough’s face at a later date. Murtough has told people he did not interrupt the meeting and that, as with the Butt fall-out, any tension was the result of a misunderstanding.’
