Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson shared two important pieces of advice with Sir Dave Brailsford and the lessons have stuck with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s right-hand man.
Brailsford has been a key figure for Ratcliffe at Ineos and is expected to play a major role at Old Trafford after the British billionaire’s 25 per cent acquisition of United.
Ratcliffe’s minority stake in United was announced by the Premier League club on Christmas Eve in 2023 and the Ineos boss will be at the helm of football operations.
Brailsford, who has been director of sport at the Ineos-owned Nice, will take his place on the powerful three-person committee running the football side of things at United.
The 59-year-old cycling coach has spoken highly of legendary United boss Ferguson, who retired as a manager in 2013, and even sought out his advice in the past.
Brailsford was spotted in the crowd alongside Ferguson in United’s 3-2 comeback win against Aston Villa at Old Trafford and the 2-1 away defeat to Nottingham Forest.
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Ferguson’s message to Brailsford
Cycling reporter Daniel Friebe recalled that Ferguson and Brailsford had met ’10 to 15 years ago’ and the United legend shared his words of wisdom with him.
According to Friebe, Ferguson told Brailsford about removing “disruptive influences” and eliminating people who aren’t “working in the same” way as him.
He added that Brailsford “really assimilated” the advice that he received from the 82-year-old iconic Scotsman during that encounter.
“I remember talking about conversations he’d had with Sir Alex Ferguson,” Friebe told Sky Sports.
“This is going back maybe 10, 15 years. I think one of the things that Ferguson used to say that Dave definitely retained was: ‘Get rid of the disruptive influences, get rid of people who aren’t working in the same direction as you.’
“Dave, as far as I could see, really assimilated that. And that was one of the pillars of the team’s success, knowing when to get rid of people, knowing when people were not on the same page as you.
“Speaking with physios, mechanics, that is something that happened at Team Sky.
“They wouldn’t necessarily do anything egregiously wrong, but Dave would get to a point and think, ‘This person is not for us anymore,’ and out they would go.”
Ratcliffe meets United boss Erik ten Hag
Ratcliffe and Ineos representatives Jean-Claude Blanc and Brailsford have visited both Old Trafford and United’s Carrington training complex this week.
The Ineos boss’ 25 per cent purchase of United still needs to be ratified by the Premier League, but the aforementioned trio have made their presence felt at the club.
Ratcliffe was spotted meeting with Erik ten Hag at the club’s training complex and the United boss has spoken with the 71-year-old businessman, Blanc and Brailsford.
Despite the Glazers not outright selling United, the club’s owners have handed powerful control to Blanc, Brailsford and Ratcliffe when it comes to football operations.
It remains to be seen what kind of impact the aforementioned trio have, but lifelong United fan Ratcliffe is already looking at two ambitious appointments at the club.
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