Micah Richards says Omar Berrada departure from Man City to Manchester United a 'massive blow'

Micah Richards has described former Manchester City chief Omar Berrada's decision to become Manchester United's new CEO as a "massive blow". Berrada was City's chief operating officer and his move across the City came in an out-of-the-blue announcement on Saturday.

He was highly regarded at City after playing a key role in the club's transformation in recent years into one of the biggest powerhouses in world football, both on and off the field, and United's appointment has been regarded as a coup for them under their new investment from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS.

And Richards says that Berrada's departure is a loss for City. “I know him, I know him very well,” said Richards on the latest The Rest is Football podcast.

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“A really nice guy, he is incredibly articulate, he’s got a plan… so how it works at Man City, you’ll have Khaldoon [al-Mubarak], who is chairman/owner, then you’ll have Ferran [Soriano], who takes care of not just Man City but all the City Group, so he’s like the frontman, CEO, any speeches or any direction.

"Then you’ll have Txiki [Begiristain], who is the football side. Really great guy, he’s just football operations, so he’s the one who gets the players and Omar worked alongside him and Brian Marwood in terms of negotiating the deals, dealing with the scouts and all that sort of thing.

“I’ve listened to him talk and he’s so inspirational, the way he knows the game, the way he knows the market and Gary Neville says it a lot but ‘best in class’ in terms of getting every department to run the best it possibly can be. It’s not just his voice, he’s happy to