London (dpa)
Manchester United’s new chief executive Omar Berrada is looking forward to meeting the club’s fans for the first time at Old Trafford when the team plays Fulham tomorrow, Friday, in the opening match of the English Premier League. Berrada sent a message to Manchester United fans, as reported by the English club’s official website.
“Dear fans, welcome back to Old Trafford for our first Premier League game of the season. This is a special occasion for me, as this is my first game here as CEO of this great club,” Barrada wrote. “I am incredibly fortunate to be in the stands with you, I have been waiting for this moment for months. There is no better place to start than here under the floodlights and in the amazing atmosphere that this stadium always has.”
“Your support at Wembley when we lost the Community Shield was fantastic,” he said. “We were disappointed not to win but we took a lot of positives from the game.” United lost the Community Shield on penalties to bitter rivals Manchester City on Saturday after the sides drew 1-1 at Wembley.
“When I was offered this role at Manchester United late last year, I didn’t think twice and didn’t hesitate. My father used to tell me as a child about the legends who played for this club, like Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and others,” Barrada explained. “It’s impossible for anyone not to know the magnitude of this club’s history; from the Munich disaster to the great success at Wembley ten years later, I’m honoured to be part of a place where overcoming adversity and returning to the podium is part of its culture and identity.”
“This great history speaks for itself,” Brada revealed. “When I walked through the club’s doors for the first time last month, I was amazed by the size of the club and what it means to its fans here in Manchester and around the world. I think it’s impossible to know the true size of Manchester United unless you’ve been inside the club; that’s been an advantage for you over the years, but here I am joining you and I feel it more and more every day. It’s very easy to fall in love with this place.”
“Our summer has been full of events and changes to the first team and the management structure,” said United’s chief executive. “We have signed Joshua Zirkzee, Lenny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, all excellent players with bright futures ahead of them. We are also delighted that captain Bruno Fernandes has signed a new contract and manager Erik ten Hag has extended his contract following our FA Cup triumph. Dan Ashworth has also joined us as sporting director and Jason Wilcox as technical director. Our aim is to build a strong management structure to work with Ten Hag to achieve long-term success. “I have enjoyed spending time with our team-mates on our pre-season tour of the United States and particularly enjoyed meeting many of our American fans and travellers while we were there. We met with our new shirt sponsor, Qualcomm Snapdragon Technologies, in San Diego and was very impressed with their pioneering technology which will help us deliver the best possible performance.”
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