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Dan Ashworth has left his role as Manchester Unitedis the sports director after only five months.
The Athletic reports that the move was initiated by the Man Utd hierarchy led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and CEO Omar Berrada, with the decision to part ways with Ashworth agreed after 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The 53-year-old officially took up his position at Old Trafford on July 1 after a long absence in the garden at his former club Newcastle United due to negotiations between the clubs regarding the exit fee.
Manchester United were eager to sign Ashworth, who they believed to be a world-class talent, and eventually paid a fee of around £2-3m to bring him to Old Trafford.
Ashworth was a prominent figure in the reshaping of the club following Ratcliffe’s minority stake purchase and oversaw major footballing decisions such as agreeing to keep Erik ten Haag as manager in the summer and spending close to £200m on players such as Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarteand Joshua Zirkzeeamong other things.
Ratcliffe has previously been full of praise for Ashworth’s work, first at Brighton & Hove Albion and then at Newcastle, after saying in February: “Dan Ashworth is clearly one of the best sporting directors in the world. I have no doubt that he is a very capable person.
“He is interested in Manchester United because it is the biggest challenge in the biggest club in the world. In City it would be different because you maintain the level. It’s a significant rebuilding job here. He would be a very good addition.”
Ratcliffe has come under fire from Man Utd fans for scrapping concessions for unsold Premier League tickets and introducing a minimum price of £66. It sparked protests at Old Trafford ahead of last weekend’s win over Everton.
Speaking to fanzine ‘United We Stand’ at the time, Ratcliffe warned of ‘difficult and unpopular decisions’ moving forward.
He said: “Manchester United have become mediocre. It should be one of the best football clubs in the world.
“We have to make some difficult and unpopular decisions. If you stay away from hard decisions, then nothing much will change.”
The decision for Ashworth to leave the club was said to be mutual.