Pep Guardiola sends Man Utd warning as Omar Berrada defects from Man City

Pep Guardiola has warned Manchester United that Omar Berrada’s arrival is unlikely to lead to immediate success at Old Trafford.

It was announced last Saturday that the Manchester City executive will replace Richard Arnold as the club’s new CEO, with the 46-year-old to take over at a later date. There was certainly some surprise among senior figures at City when the news emerged, given Berrada played a key role in City’s development into Europe’s leading side over the last decade.

Speaking in Thursday’s press conference ahead of the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Tottenham Hotspur, Guardiola admitted Berrada’s departure is a real blow but said he will be surprised if things change quickly at United, adding the Red Devils will have to build a stand in Berrada’s honour if he brings instant results.

“Obviously his knowledge goes to United, that’s the reality. When you buy a player from another club you buy the knowledge that this player has had in the past with other managers and team mates,” explained the ex-Barcelona boss. 

“That is normal. In this club, these situations happen. The club will move forward. Maybe we’ll find a way to replace him and we’ll continue, because the new guy is coming maybe from here, Ferran [Soriano] and Khaldoon [Al Mubarak] will decide. We will be well prepared, we will adapt and adjust and move forward. We learned a lot from Omar but he’s learned a lot from the club and now he’s gone to united.”

Guardiola added that Berrada will take a lot of City’s ‘secrets’ with him to United but seemed to imply that the reigning champions remain streets ahead of their near neighbours, who will need more than one new employee to change the status quo in Manchester.

“Yeah but Kevin De Bruyne is still in Man City. De Bruyne will play here. Erling Haaland will play here so in the end it’s not that simple like that. Otherwise with the power of United they would have done it before. 

“Maybe United thinks with this person everything is going to change – congratulations. I don’t know if this is going to happen. He is a lovely person, incredible character, incredible professional. Yesterday I saw him, we hugged and I wished him all the best, deeply I wish him the best because he’s a fantastic person. 

“But I don’t know if [by] doing this (clicks his fingers) everything is going to be sorted and it works. If it does happen then oh my god they have to make a stand for Omar Berrada in the future because he’d deserve it.”

Berrada’s defection from the Etihad will create something of an unofficial link between the Manchester clubs, in the same way ex-City staff members Paul Midgely and Jason Wilcox joined Newcastle United and Southampton in recent years, leading to several player transfers from City.

It’s similar at Burnley where ex-captain Vincent Kompany is manager while Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta also has a well-established relationship with the City manager. This only helped the Gunners secure the services of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus in 2022, and Guardiola said City would not be opposed to a similar dynamic with United just because they are local rivals.

“Why not? If a person is unhappy here and want to go to United and there’s a deal for the right price then why not? No problem,” explained Guardiola. “If Omar is not happy here and wants to go there he has to go.  What can we do? There is nothing wrong with that. 

“In the clubs this situation happens. If we want a player from them, United have to agree to sell, and he wants to come and they agree a transfer, why should we not do it? Winning and losing doesn’t depend on these specific things. It depends on many things. This is what I believe.”