Richard Arnold ‘is expected to LEAVE his role’ as Manchester United CEO if Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority stake is approved… with ‘ex-Juventus chief Jean-Claude Blanc under consideration to replace him’

• Sir Jim Ratcliffe agreed deal to take a 25% stake in Man United earlier this month
• That move would reportedly lead to the departure of club CEO Richard Arnold 
• Follow Mail Sport’s new Man United WhatsApp channel for all the breaking news 

Richard Arnold is expected to leave his role as Manchester United’s CEO should Sir Jim Ratcliffe be successful in landing a 25 per cent minority stake. 

British petrochemicals billionaire Ratcliffe, a lifelong United fan, is set to pay £1.4billion to purchase a 25 per cent stake in the club from the Glazer family after a long-winded sale process that began last November. 

Ratcliffe and Qatari royal Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani were the front-runners in the bidding war and both parties submitted multiple offers, before Jassim withdrew from the process last week.  

But with Ratcliffe – who, along with his team, is expected to take control of football matters at Old Trafford – trying to finalise his ownership stake, the Athletic report that it will lead to a personnel shake-up which would see Arnold leave his position.

They report that former Juventus CEO Jean-Claude Blanc, the man who currently oversees INEOS Sport’s entire portfolio, is already under consideration to replace Arnold.

Richard Arnold has been Manchester United’s CEO since replacing Ed Woodward last year

It has been claimed that Arnold will leave his role if Sir Jim Ratcliffe secures his minority stake

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Arnold has been Manchester United’s CEO since February 2022, succeeding Ed Woodward in th role.

Ratcliffe’s minority stake still needs to be ratified by a 12-person board – Arnold is one of the 12 – and so it could take a number of weeks still to be finalised.  

The Athletic’s report goes on to say that Arnold’s future has been discussed during conversations about how things may change should Ratcliffe and his team control the football side of the business. 

While United have not commented on what they described as ‘speculation’  a boardroom shake-up feels inevitable. 

Ratcliffe has a sporting empire which encompasses cycling, rugby and sailing along with two football teams in French side Nice and Swiss outfit Lausanne-Sport, while he also owns a third of F1 team Mercedes.

He has already queried United’s recruitment policy, with Casemiro highlighted as one move that does not represent value for the club. 

Ratcliffe is still trying to finalise a 25 per cent stake from the Glazer family for £1.4billion

As part of the deal the Glazers would allow Ratcliffe and his team to control football operations

Arnold has been employed by Manchester United since 2007 and has enjoyed lots of success on the commercial side.  

Were he to move on it should be noted that Woodward remained in position for a further nine months after he confirmed he would be leaving. 

This story has emerged hours after United announced record revenues of £648.4million for last season with their wage bill dropping by £52.8m.

The Old Trafford club’s long-term debt remains at £538m, while the wage bill went down to £331.4m, figures revealed, mainly because United didn’t compete in the Champions League last season.

Commercial revenues exceeded £300m for the first time but despite the record revenues, the club still recorded a £42.1m loss for 2022-23. 

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