Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keeping faith in Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox despite mounting criticism of the pair's decision-making during Manchester United's dire season. Reports claim Michael Carrick will be sacked this week, with both senior figures approving of his exit.
The club go into the international break in the relegation zone, having won just one of their 10 Premier League games. Carrick's struggles have brought broader problems at the club into focus, including questions over whether Berrada and Wilcox are fit for purpose given their previous experience and subsequent decisions.
They will have played their part in United potentially having a third different manager in the dugout inside a calendar year if Carrick is dismissed. Despite their decision-making clearly setting the club back, the Telegraph reports that Ratcliffe has no plans to remove them from their roles.
Summit in Monaco
Wilcox and Berrada are expected to meet Ratcliffe in Monaco on Wednesday as part of a summit for Ineos's senior staff. The meeting 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 the dire season. 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.
Wilcox, in his role as director of football, has been criticised for the club's poor recruitment, with chief executive Berrada ultimately overseeing the day-to-day football operations.
Appointments and criticism
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 his reputation had risen.
It was at City that Berrada 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. They hired Ruben Amorim despite his philosophy not being a fit for the club and opted to hand Carrick the job full-time despite obvious concerns over his prior experience and the wider circumstances that contributed to his interim success.
