Ineos make Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox sack decisions ahead of crunch Man Utd talks
Manchester United chiefs Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada retain the backing of Sir Jim Ratcliffe despite their competency coming under severe scrutiny. The club go into the international break in the relegation zone and Michael Carrick will be sacked this week, with both senior figures approving of his exit. However, Carrick and the team's struggles have shone a light on issues that run far deeper at the club, including whether Berrada and Wilcox are fit for purpose given their previous experience and subsequent decision making.
Despite their decision making clearly setting the club back, Ratcliffe has no plans to remove them from their roles. Wilcox and Berrada are expected to meet Ratcliffe in Monaco on Wednesday as part of a summit for Ineos’s senior staff. It had long been pencilled in the diary but the situation at Old Trafford means Carrick's future will be front and centre.
The United hierarchy, namely Wilcox and Berrada, have been increasingly singled out by fans and pundits as a result of a dire season which has seen them win just one of their 10 Premier League games. Even Lisandro Martinez went as far as to call out Wilcox in the aftermath of their loss to Atletico Madrid, accusing him of not equipping the squad well enough.
Richard Keys calls for Wilcox and Berrada to follow Carrick out of Manchester United
Wilcox, in his role as director of football, has been hammered for the club's poor recruitment, with chief executive Berrada ultimately overseeing the day-to-day football operations. Ratcliffe appointed Berrada and Wilcox after taking control of the football department when he bought an influential minority stake from the Glazers in 2024.
Berrada was hired off the back of his work at Manchester City, where he had seen his reputation rise and became aware of Wilcox, who was the club’s academy director before leaving to become director of football at Southampton. He was there 14 months before joining United, initially as technical director.
Among the poor decisions that have seen the pair criticised is the backing, and then the sacking, of Erik ten Hag, hiring Ruben Amorim despite his philosophy not being a fit for the club, and opting to hand Carrick the job full-time despite obvious concerns over his prior experience.