A report from the Daily Mail claims the Glazer family 'intervened' to overrule Manchester United's director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada on who would replace Michael Carrick as manager.
It emerged in the past 24 hours that Mauricio Pochettino, currently head coach of the USA national team, has reached an agreement to take over at Old Trafford. The report says Wilcox and Berrada had instead been pushing for Eddie Howe, but the Glazers stepped in to ensure Pochettino got the job.
Pochettino only recently became the clear favourite for the role, with Howe and Julian Nagelsmann previously said to be the leading contenders. Man Utd have also been linked with Antonio Conte, Fabian Hurzeler and Unai Emery during the search for Carrick's successor.
Carrick was sacked on Thursday after weeks of speculation about his position. United had been expected to dismiss him following heavy back-to-back losses to Como and AFC Bournemouth, but he was given matches against Chelsea, AS Roma and Aston Villa before the international break to try to save his job. He did not do enough in those games to continue in the role.
The Daily Mail report states that the Glazer family, 'petrified by the shocking descent of their Premier League asset', simply stepped in to get Pochettino installed. It adds that the Glazers are 'back calling the shots' at the club, rendering Wilcox and Berrada 'irrelevant also-rans'.
The report is significant because the Glazers have largely taken a backseat at United since Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS group purchased a minority stake in the club at the start of 2023, a deal that saw Ratcliffe take control of football operations with Wilcox and Berrada assisting him.
According to the report: 'If Berrada and Wilcox had got their way, we would seemingly have been treated to the sight of Eddie Howe wandering into the Old Trafford madhouse in the next few days. The Glazers said 'no', insisted that Pochettino would have the keys and Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his men fell in line with that.'
It continues: 'Should Berrada and Wilcox both survive the latest embarrassment - and it would be a travesty if they do, as United pay US Soccer £7.5million in compensation for Pochettino, who would have been out of contract if they'd moved for him in August - then both will be a virtual irrelevance now. Also-rans, bypassed by the latest executive dice roll for United.'
