Manchester United signing: Rio Ferdinand hails new man as ‘one of our best January’ deals

Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand has hailed Omar Berrada as “one of the best” January signings Manchester United have ever made following his appointment as the club’s new chief executive.

Berrada became the latest figure to make the controversial switch across Manchester last weekend when he was appointed Man Utd CEO in one of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s first significant acts since his acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in the club in December.

Berrada, who has replaced Richard Arnold as chief executive, joins after playing an instrumental role in the rise of local rivals Manchester City, where he had worked since 2011 as chief football operations officer.

Former Barcelona man Berrada is expected to have a more prominent role at Old Trafford, with Ratcliffe’s INEOS operations described as the “driving force” behind his appointment.

Ferdinand, who lifted six Premier League titles during a decorated Manchester United career between 2002 and 2014, has revealed that staff at Man City have been left in shock by Berrada’s switch – and believes the new man could prove to be one of the club’s greatest January signings.

Speaking via his FIVE podcast, he commented: “I spoke to some guys at City and they can’t believe we’ve got him. They think: ‘Wow.’

“He’s done so much in the game at different levels and he’s been successful. It’s a really good, sharp signing for us.

“I think this could potentially be one of our best January signings in the current climate we are in now, especially.”

Ferdinand’s comments come after a series of tweets resurfaced which appeared to show Berrada targeting Manchester United online.

When Man Utd played Chelsea in February 2012, he posted: “Stuck at the airport ’cause of snow delays. Killing time watching Man United vs Chelsea on my iPad via Sky go. And hoping for a ManU loss…”

After Spanish stars Fernando Torres and Juan Mata combined to double Chelsea’s lead in that match, Berrada posted: “Goal! Chelsea 2-0 Manchester United. Oh yeah! Viva la Spanish Connection!”

Meanwhile, in 2013 he posted: “Watching the Man Utd vs Bayern 1999 UCL final on ESPN Classic. I had forgotten how much Bayern really deserved to win that match.”

Finally, in April 2014, Berrada commented on a newspaper article criticising the running of Manchester United both on and off the pitch in the first season after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, which culminated in the dismissal of Ferguson’s successor David Moyes.

Berrada simply posted: “How did they get into this mess?”