Ex-PSG chief ‘agrees’ to take key Man Utd role under Ratcliffe; new director ‘ready to sign’ contract | OneFootball

Jean-Claude Blanc, Sir Dave Brailsford and Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

According to reports, former Paris-Saint Germain man Jean-Claude Blanc is set to become Manchester United’s new chief executive.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s takeover of Man Utd is on the brink of being completed. He will initially purchase a 25% stake (for around £1.4bn) but he intends to become their majority stakeholder in a couple of years.

The British billionaire will take control of footballing matters at Old Trafford right away and changes are already being made behind the scenes.

It was confirmed on Wednesday that chief executive Richard Arnold is stepping down. A club statement read: “Richard Arnold has decided to step down as Chief Executive of Manchester United after 16 years with the club.

“Patrick Stewart will take over as interim CEO, in addition to his existing role as General Counsel, with Richard continuing to provide transitional support until the end of December.

“A search process will be carried out for a new permanent CEO.”

Man Utd have already lined up Arnold’s replacement as French outlet Sports Zone are reporting that he has ‘given an agreement to INEOS’ to join the Premier League giants as their new chief executive.

This report has been backed up by Foot Mercato, who confirm that Blanc – who has previously had spells at PSG and Juventus but is currently INEOS’ general director – will follow Ratcliffe in joining Man Utd in the coming months.

Sporting director John Murtough is also likely to be replaced with Man Utd being linked with former Tottenham and AS Monaco chief Paul Mitchell.

The report from Foot Mercato claims Mitchell and ex-Liverpool man Michael Edwards are ‘strongly appreciated’.

Journalist Santi Aouna tweeted: “Jean Claude Blanc is set to become Manchester United’s new CEO, once the purchase of Jim Ratcliffe’s shares has been completed.

“MU also want Paul Mitchell. The former Monaco manager is ready to sign, but some details have yet to be finalized. MU has also held discussions with Michael Edwards.”

After leaving Monaco, Mitchell admitted he was keen to spend more time with his “loved ones” after “fulfilling his mission” with the Ligue Un outfit.

“It was a very difficult decision,” Mitchell told French newspaper Nice-Matin.

“I loved my experience at this club. I have always felt a lot of support from president Dmitry Rybolovlev. We had several discussions about my mission, about the possibility of changing roles within the club, of extending my contract.

“I am very grateful to the president for trusting me. We have built a relationship based on transparency and honesty.

“But I have spent a lot of time away from home and my loved ones in recent years. I feel that the mission I had, which was to rebuild the sports project, has been fulfilled.”