Siddharth Juyal
Manchester United are considering Atletico Madrid sporting director Andrea Berta for the same role under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s control
Manchester United are planning to appoint Atletico Madrid sporting director Andrea Berta after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid succeeds. The Italian businessman has been the sporting director of the La Liga giants for 10 years.
Berta joined Atletico as a technical director in 2013 and supervised many high-profile transfer businesses for the club. The 51-year-old earned an internal promotion in 2017 when he took over as the Sporting Director of the club.
Berta has played a pivotal role in Atletico’s hierarchy in assisting the manager Diego Simeone in achieving great success.
Atletico won two La Liga, the Europa League and the Super Cup under the guidance of the Italian businessman. As a personal allocate, Berta received the Best Sporting Director of the Year award in 2019.
The 51-year-old played a pivotal role in signing Jose Maria Gimenez, David Villa, Antoine Griezmann, Jan Oblack, and Rodri. The Italian has a known reputation for making significant expenditures when necessary, exemplified by signings such as Thomas Lemar and Joao Felix.
Telegraph reported that Ratcliffe is planning to take guidance from the legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson to make changes. The Red Devils are preparing to appoint a sporting director with Berta’s name on the shortlist. Other names include Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman, Paul Mitchell, Lee Congerton, Paolo Maldini, and Ricky Massara.
The CEO of INEOS Chemical group has made a bid for 25% of the shares in United. The 71-year-old wants complete control of football operation at United and will initiate an overhaul accordingly.
According to Daily Mail, United topped the spending table among the clubs around the world in the past decade. The Manchester giants spent £1.19bn more than they recouped by selling the players.
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The Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag enjoyed ample amount of control in players’ recruitment since his appointment in 2022. However, many of the Dutchman’s signings have failed to live up to their heavy price tag.
United fans would welcome the news of a new sporting director after seeing so many high-priced signings fail embarrassingly. The club awaits to see how extensively Ratcliffe will personally involve himself if his bid succeeds. Berta is an intriguing candidate for the job and his reputation speaks for itself.
