Who is Sir Dave Brailsford? How Manchester United can benefit from 'best in sport'

Change is on the horizon at Manchester United after Sir Jim Ratcliffe's minority takeover was confirmed.

The 71-year-old British billionaire and INEOS founder will purchase a 25 per cent share at the Premier League giants as he prepares to begin work behind the scenes. While the much-maligned Glazer family are still at the club, Ratcliffe and other proposed appointments will have a direct influence on their footballing operations.

Sir Dave Brailsford is also expected to pitch up at Old Trafford and take a leading role alongside Ratcliffe as he has with other INEOS-backed sporting ventures. Here, we take a closer look at the 59-year-old and what United should expect as and when the director of sport for INEOS is appointed in a formal capacity.

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Cycling fanatics or anyone familiar with the sport will already know who Brailsford is and what he has achieved in his sporting career. However, for those unaware, he was responsible for the development and subsequent success of Team GB and Team Sky over the last decade or so.

Brailsford first became famous due to his success with Team GB at the Olympic Games. He managed to transform British Cycling from winning two golds at Athens 2004 to eight golds at both Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

After that, he headed up road squad Team Sky as they set their sights on Tour de France glory. Brailsford oversaw wins for Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas between 2012 and 2018. Team Sky changed its name to Team INEOS Grenadiers in 2019 - and Brailsford remained the team's principal.

Ever since the 2019 change, Brailsford has worked closely with INEOS