Richard Arnold has stepped down from his role as CEO of Manchester United.
Sky Sports’ Mark Kleinman revealed on X that Arnold is expected to leave the club by the end of this year.
EXCLUSIVE: Richard Arnold, the Manchester United Football Club CEO, is to leave the club by the end of the year. An announcement will be made later today and will come shortly before Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos Sport confirms the acquisition of a 25% stake in the club. More soon.
— Mark Kleinman (@MarkKleinmanSky) November 15, 2023
According to Kleinman, the club is set to make an official announcement later in the day, shortly before the confirmation of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of a 25% stake in United.
Arnold’s disastrous stint included the mishandling of the Mason Greenwood saga as well as the numerous fan complaints regarding the ownership.
The Athletic have revealed that the role of interim CEO will be filled in by Patrick Stewart, who is United’s most senior lawyer who has been overseeing takeover procedures between the club and INEOS in recent weeks.
As per an official update from the club, Richard will continue to provide transitional support until the end of December. The search for a new permanent CEO will start soon.
Patrick Stewart will take the role of Manchester United’s interim chief executive when Richard Arnold departs the club.#MUFC
More from @AdamCrafton_ ⬇️
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) November 15, 2023
Journalist Fabrizio Romano added that Arnold’s departure is connected to the INEOS deal with Ratcliffe keen to bring his own changes to the club.
🚨🔴 BREAKING: Manchester United CEO Richard Arnold leaves the club by the end of the year.
This is part of changes with INEOS set to complete the acquisition of a 25% stake in the club.
Patrick Stewart will be the interim CEO, as @MarkKleinmanSky revealed. pic.twitter.com/eQolyR8rMf
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 15, 2023
The Peoples Person reported in late October that Arnold was expected to leave United should Sir Ratcliffe be able to complete the acquisition of a 25% stake in the club.
Despite taking over a minority share, the British billionaire’s influence at the club is expected to be significant, with the INEOS founder already set to take control of United’s football operations by November 26.
Ratcliffe is also expected to invest a large portion of his initial £245 million payment in improvements to United’s Carrington training facilities.
As head of United’s football operations, the lifelong United fan is also expected to be active in the transfer market after it was revealed that he would like to build his “new-look side” around Bruno Fernandes.
While both Arnold and Director of Football John Murtough were expected to fight to convince Sir Ratcliffe to keep them on, it’s clear that Murtough also has no place in the new minority owner’s plans.
It is believed that ex-Juventus CEO Jean-Claude Blanc is being considered for the role of United’s next CEO on a permanent basis.
Murtough will be waiting anxiously to see if his fate will be the same as Arnold’s.