Cycling Maestro Sir Dave Brailsford Turns Attention to Manchester United Overhaul

Sir Dave Brailsford’s resignation spells the of end his longstanding association with the realm of cycling as he steps into a new role at the soccer club Manchester United. The 59-year-old’s decision spells the end of a 15 year relationship with the team Ineos-Grenadiers, where he spent a majority of his time as the team principal.

The move to Manchester United comes after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of 25% stake in the club. Upon his instructions, Brailsford is to conduct an audit of the club operations, to begin with. After a successful run with Ineos-Grenadiers as their co-founder and principal over the years, he now has a new challenge to conquer. What does this mean for the cycling team and where will this duo take Manchester United from here?

Manchester United all set for massive overhaul

The team removed Sir Davis Brailsford’s name from their website on Friday, making his exit official and complete. Over the past few years, Brailsford had a sedate role at Ineos-Grenadiers, moving away from day-to-day operations and focused on his role as Director of Sports for Ineos.

His association with Sir Ratcliffe began in 2019, when he bought the team from Sky UK. Ineos, the petrochemical company has a stake in several sports, namely; Ligue 1 football club OGC Nice, the Mercedes Formula One team and Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup sailing team. As the Director of Sports, Brailsford was responsible for conducting an audit of all the teams, their performances and areas of improvement.

With a 25% stake in the popular and prestigious Manchester United, Sir Radcliffe is extremely excited with the opportunity it presents. On his instructions, Brailsford now has to conduct a complete audit of their football operations, like he did for their other sporting teams. Both Ratcliffe and Brailsford were present for the team’s league game against Spurs last week and even met coach Erik ten Hag last month.

A brand new saga begins now

The ownership saga in itself was a rollercoaster ride that lasted for 13 months. The Glazers, owners of Manchester United, made life tough for interested bidders, as they searched the market for a better valuation, but eventually rejected a  £5 billion bid by Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani.

For Ratcliffe and Brailsford, their new association with Manchester United presents them a wonderful and challenging opportunity. A club with perhaps the greatest legacy in English football is in the midst of horror run and an overhaul is imminent. With over seven Tour de France in his kitty as team principal of Ineos Grenadiers, Brailsford will be keen to turn the fortunes around for his club too.

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“We are here for the long term and recognise that a lot of challenges and hard work lie ahead, which we will approach with rigour, professionalism and passion. We are committed to working with everyone at the club – the Board, staff, players and fans – to help drive the club forward.” is what Sir Ratcliffe said at the time of the deal.

Brailsford has already started his invigorating overhaul campaign at the club and aims to hire an external auditor to identify areas where they can streamline processes and cut costs. He has left no stone unturned, personally overseeing operations at Old Trafford. Once they receive their Premier League ratification, he will join the club’s board. That will officially spell the start of intriguing and hopefully successful association at Manchester United.

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