- Dan Ashworth has been sacked after just 159 days as the club’s sporting director
- He was at the game with his family when they called him from the directors’ box.
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Manchester United have mercilessly sacked Dan Ashworth after just 159 days as the club’s sporting director.
Ashworth was informed of the club’s decision by chief executive Omar Berrada following Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.
Mail Sport understands Ashworth was at the game with his family before being summoned from the directors’ box for a meeting with Berrada, who broke the news to him.
United issued a statement on Sunday saying: “Dan Ashworth will leave his role as sporting director of Manchester United by mutual agreement.
“We would like to thank Dan for his work and support during the club’s transition period and wish him the best for the future.”
Although the decision was said to be mutual, it is understood that Ratcliffe and Brailsford made it in consultation with co-owner Joel Glazer.
Dan Ashworth has been sacked after just 159 days as Manchester United sporting director
Ashworth was informed of the club’s decision on Saturday by chief executive Omar Berrada.
Ashworth’s sacking came after Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.
Ashworth spent around the same time at work as he did on gardening leave at Newcastle after United approached their Premier League rivals about bringing him to Old Trafford in February.
The 53-year-old started working at United on July 1 after the two clubs agreed compensation of around £3million. United will now have to give Ashworth compensation, although it is understood the figure will be lower because he has been in the job for less than six months.
United are not believed to be looking for a replacement just weeks before the transfer window opens. Head coach Jason Wilcox and interim recruiting director Christopher Vivell could take on more responsibilities in the near term and would also be candidates to take on the athletic director role permanently.
United sources said Ashworth’s departure was “a very difficult decision” for both parties, adding that the former FA director of football had behaved with decency and integrity during his time at the club.
But they admitted that Ineos’ new co-owners have been building a leadership team at a good pace and are still learning the process, fueling suspicions that Ashworth did not fit into the new structure created by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford.
Mail Sport understands there were concerns that Ashworth, who worked at the club’s Carrington training base, was not making enough cuts to the football department as part of a wide-ranging financial campaign by Ineos.
There are also rumors that he did not fully support the recent appointment of Ruben Amorim as the new head coach, preferring an Englishman such as Gareth Southgate or Graham Potter.
United sources said Ashworth’s departure was “a very difficult decision” for both parties.
There are suspicions that Ashworth did not fit into the new structure created by Sir Jim Ratcliffe (pictured) and Sir Dave Brailsford.
Ratcliffe had previously described Ashworth as a “10/10 sporting director, one of the best”, but his comments to the United We Stand fanzine on Saturday are even more significant in retrospect.
“Major changes are coming to achieve elite status,” warned the Ineos billionaire. ‘If you avoid making difficult decisions, then nothing much is going to change.
‘Manchester United must have the best recruitment in the world. You can’t just flip a light switch and order recruitment. “It’s about people and we need to find the right ones.”
