‘The best since Cristiano Ronaldo’ - Man Utd’s coup of Omar Berrada from Man City compared to signing of Portugal superstar

Berrada worked for City for 12 years and was the chief football operations officer before he decided to cross the divide and join United to become the new CEO at Old Trafford. Although City have been shocked and disappointed by his departure, they are confident that their robust football operations department, led by Ferran Soriano, Txiki Begiristain, and Brian Marwood would do enough to manage his exit.

According to The Athletic, Berrada's move has not just created waves in Manchester but has been a talking point across several Premier League clubs. There is a general appreciation for Berrada's work at City and many have hailed United for their incredible manoeuvrings which helped them snatch a key official from their rivals. One of them even labelled it as the first genuinely elite move by United in a decade, which is comparable to signing a young Ronaldo back in 2003. He is tipped to have the potential to revive United both in the sporting and financial aspects.

Berrada, who joined City from Barcelona in 2011, served as the chief financial officer for eight years. He played a pivotal role in the club's significant commercial growth over the last 13 years and was an instrumental figure in helping City achieve record revenues in the previous year, which was also fuelled by Pep Guardiola's side winning the treble.

Berrada is expected to work behind the scenes at Old Trafford since he is on a six-month gardening leave after walking out of Etihad hence it is unlikely that he will travel to witness United live in action against Newport County in the FA Cup on Sunday.