After Manchester United suffered yet another Premier League defeat at the weekend, the size of the task of in turning around their fortunes continues to be under the spotlight.
Sunday afternoon saw the Red Devils come away from north London empty-handed, as Tottenham’s 1-0 win saw Ruben Amorim’s side suffer a 12th defeat of the season that leaves Manchester United languishing in 15th place in the Premier League.
The loss was Amorim’s eighth in 12 league games since he took over from Erik ten Hag in the Old Trafford dugout, with the Portuguese boss having to contend with a 12-man injury list.
Manchester United set to hire Paris Saint-Germain man
Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his minority investment in the club 12 months ago and has overseen a series of changes both on the football and business sides of the club.
This has included the axing of a quarter of the club’s workforce in 2024, with the club set to make a further round of redundancies, while bonuses and Christmas parties have been cut.
Erik ten Hag was handed a new contract in the summer, only to be sacked a few months later, while the lengthy and costly pursuit of director of football Dan Ashworth would result in the former Newcastle United chief leaving Old Trafford after just five months.
The club’s next appointment looks to be the hiring of Marc Armstrong from Paris Saint-Germain, where he has been working as the club’s chief revenue officer, according to The Athletic.
Armstrong is set to be hired as the club’s chief business officer after ‘lengthy negotiations’ with the French side, with the British-born official expected to take up the new post ‘within weeks’.
Armstrong has been in charge of PSG’s financial strategy since 2022 and will work under CEO Omar Berrada, who is responsible for the commercial and football sides of the club.
The club hope that Armstrong will be able to increase revenues at a time when the club are continuing to cut costs.
Armstong’s CV also includes a stint with the FA as their head of business development and spells with the NBA where he was vice president of marketing partnerships and NFL where he was a commercial director.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Armstrong has the kind of experience and track record that Manchester United need at a challenging time for the business. It is clear by the team’s performance on the pitch this season that years of poor business management are coming home to roost and turning the tanker around will be a lengthy process that needs experienced and shrewd operators at the helm.
