Man Utd executives to depart as Ratcliffe puts his stamp on club

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Two long-standing Manchester United executives are departing at the end of the season, as Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe continues to put his stamp on the English football club after acquiring a minority stake.

Interim chief executive Patrick Stewart, who joined in 2006 and has held senior legal and regulatory roles, is stepping down. Chief financial officer Cliff Baty is also leaving after eight years at the club. The pair are leaving by “mutual consent”, the company said.

Jean-Claude Blanc, head of Ineos’s sports arm, who previously led Italian side Juventus and French team Paris Saint-Germain, will replace Stewart as interim CEO until Manchester City’s chief football operations manager Omar Berrada joins on July 13. 

Baty will be replaced by former Ineos Sport CFO Roger Bell, in another sign of Ratcliffe’s influence at the club.

Ratcliffe made his fortune in petrochemicals but has since pushed into sports, with interests ranging from football and Formula 1 to competitive cycling.

The changes come as he continues to shake up United following years of underperformance on the pitch. He controls 27.7 per cent of the club’s voting rights, following a deal agreed with the majority-owning Glazer family on Christmas Eve last year.

United, which has failed to win the Premier League since 2013, is sixth in the current table with the men’s team no longer able to finish in one of the top four spots that guarantee qualification for the Uefa Champions League, the club competition for elite European sides.

“I would like to personally thank both Patrick and Cliff for their support in helping us get to know the club and making us feel welcome, and I respect their decisions to now move on as we establish a new management team for the club,” Ratcliffe said.

Manchester United A shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at $16.20 on Tuesday, down more than 1.4 per cent. The stock is down more than 19 per cent over the past year. While the public can buy only A shares, Ratcliffe and the Glazers hold super-voting B shares.