Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada sets deadline to win Premier League title

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Louise Thomas

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Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada wants the club to win the Premier League in 2028, revealing a three-year plan that would coincide with the Red Devils’ 150th anniversary.

Berrada delivered his message to staff last week in the eye of a difficult beginning to the season under Erik ten Hag, which took another disappointing turn with the 1-1 draw against FC Twente in Wednesday’s Europa League opener.

“It’s not a 10-year plan,” said Berrada, according to The Athletic. “The fans would run out of patience if it was a 10-year plan. But it’s certainly a three-year plan to get there.

“To think that we’re going to be playing football as good as Manchester City played against Real Madrid last season by next year is not sensible. And if we give people false expectations, then they will get disappointed. So the key thing is our trajectory, so that people can see that we’re making progress.”

Berrada joined from rivals Manchester City after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos took a 27.7 per cent investment in the club earlier this year.

He reportedly also placed an emphasis on the women’s team during his meeting with staff and indicated the importance of the team winning their maiden Women’s Super League title within the plan dubbed “Project 150”.

Berrada, Ratcliffe and the new hierarchy stood by Ten Hag during a summer in which many expected the Dutchman to be sacked. While Manchester United endured a mixed season, an uptick in form as the campaign came to a close and FA Cup victory over Manchester City afforded Ten Hag more time to instill his vision.

“I think it’s the club’s 150-year anniversary in 2028… if our trajectory is leading to a very good place in that sort of timeframe then we’d be very happy with that,” added Berrada. “Because it’s not easy to turn Manchester United into the world’s best football team.

“The ultimate target for Manchester United — and it’s always going to be thus, really — is that we should be challenging for the Premier League and challenging for the Champions League. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

Manchester United have not won the Premier League since the departure of Alex Ferguson in 2013. Ten Hag is the fifth permanent manager in that time.

The Old Trafford club have two wins, two defeats and a draw from their first five matches of the new Premier League season as scrutiny again intensifies on the Dutchman’s tactics.