Sir Dave Brailsford: Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s confidant expected to lead Man United overhaul – Man United News And Transfer News

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With Sir Jim Ratcliffe closing in on completing a partial investment in Manchester United that will fundamentally make him a minority owner, the 71-year-old is already making plans to kickstart his overhaul of the Red Devils.

Ratcliffe’s proposal is contingent on being granted full control of United’s sporting operations.

Already, the British businessman is said to have identified personnel who will occupy key positions at Old Trafford and lead his revolution of the 20-time English champions.

Transfer guru Paul Mitchell is in strong consideration to take over as United’s sporting director.

Ex-Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain chief Jean-Claude Blanc has also been tipped to take over at United in the likely event that Richard Arnold steps down.

It was reported that Sir Dave Brailsford will sit on an all-powerful three-man football committee also consisting of Sir Jim and Joel Glazer, which will have the final say on all important sporting matters.

Sir Dave is a close confidant of Ratcliffe and all signs point to the former having significant sway at United once the partial investment goes through.

So who is Sir Dave Brailsford and what can United fans expect from him? The 59-year-old is a British cycling supremo who has an extensive and successful track record, especially when working in partnership with INEOS.

Brailsford was appointed Director of Sport at INEOS in December 2021. His main responsibilities revolve around overseeing teams funded by the petrochemical company.

He has been credited with playing a key role in the development and subsequent success of Team GB and Team Sky in cycling during the last decade or so.

Brailsford has enjoyed great success with Team GB at the Olympics – they won two gold medals in 2004 at Athens before transforming the team to claim an additional eight gold medals at both Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

His triumphs with Team GB earned him a promotion to become boss of road squad Team Sky, who were in pursuit of Tour de France success. A period of sustained glory followed in this capacity between 2012 and 2018.

When INEOS became a sponsor of Team Sky prompting a name change to Team INEOS, Brailsford retained his job as the side’s team principal.

Under Brailsford, INEOS has diversified its sporting portfolio to branch into football, Formula 1, rugby and even sailing.

Ratcliffe owns Ligue 1’s OGC-Nice and Swiss Super League outfit FC Lausanne-Sport via the INEOS umbrella.

The Sun explains one of Brailsford’s key philosophies that have enabled him to enjoy great success wherever he has gone. “All this historic success on two wheels was underpinned by Brailsford’s ‘marginal-gains’ philosophy.”

“The idea was to try and improve the smallest components by just one per cent in multiple areas and then the accumulative impact of all that would see a significant increase in overall performance.”

“It was a philosophy that gained great credibility and celebration at the time, in and out of sport, but has since had its critics.”

Brailsford was knighted in 2013 for his contributions to the country’s sporting ventures.

The Sun opens up on some of the recent controversies that have battered Brailsford’s reputation – all issues that are likely to be questioned if he assumes control on Ratcliffe’s behalf at Old Trafford.

In 2016, he was apparently accused by a former coach of perpetuating a culture of “bullying, harassment and wrongful dismissal of staff” at British Cycling.

He was also taken through a grilling session by MPs in Westminster as part of an exercise to deal with doping in sport.

As per The Sun, “Key issues discussed included the use of therapeutic use exemptions and the mysterious contents of a medicinal package – often referred to as the ‘Jiffy bag’ – delivered to Team Sky during the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine that was won by Wiggins.”

“The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee issued a report in March 2018 that claimed Team Sky had crossed an “ethical line” by using permitted medication to “enhance the performance” of Wiggins. This allegation was “strongly refuted” by the cycling outfit.”

It’s important to note that there are no indications of personal wrongdoing on Brailsford’s part.