Michael Edwards has already embarrassed Sir Jim Ratcliffe as Man Utd in chaos

This year, Michael Edwards made an indirect comeback to Liverpool, and he hasn’t wasted any time humiliating Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Manchester United.

Even with the recent shift in minority ownership, Manchester United is still essentially directionless. However, had Sir Jim Ratcliffe had his way, Michael Edwards may have been in command of the vessel.

After serving as sports director at Liverpool, the transfer mastermind is back at Fenway Sports Group as CEO of Football. After Edwards allegedly turned down approaches from Manchester United and Chelsea, the Reds’ owners pulled off a significant coup by luring him back.

Ratcliffe has sort of found his next suitor in Dan Ashworth, but the director is still without a job while his gardening leave is extended since Manchester United and Newcastle United cannot agree on a transfer fee. With the club in disarray over the past two weeks, this uncertainty comes at the worst possible time.

Upon joining FSG, one of Edwards’ first responsibilities was to handle Liverpool’s need for a new head coach when Klopp announced his resignation. Even though the Reds took their time, once Arne Slot was picked, everything went swiftly, and an announcement was prepared in a tidy manner for the end of the campaign.

Not everything went as planned, though, as Edwards had to deal with Xabi Alonso’s decision to remain at Bayer Leverkusen. However, the process was carried out “behind the scenes,” so only those within Liverpool can say for sure whether he would have even been contacted in favour of Slot.

That stands in stark contrast to the circus that Ratcliffe is in charge of at Old Trafford. He has boasted to everyone who would listen about the amazing standards he intends to bring to Manchester United, but thus far all he has accomplished is whine about how messy the offices are and unfairly forbid work-from-home options.

In the meantime, the’review’ on Erik ten Hag’s future has been humiliatingly visible and embarrassing to the public. Although it’s obvious that Manchester United wants to change, negotiations with Thomas Tuchel ended in deadlock, and neither Thomas Frank nor Mauricio Pochettino seem to have produced any results either.

Then there is Gareth Southgate, who will not entertain any talks until the tournament is over because he is now fully occupied with Euro 2024. Ratcliffe and Manchester United might even decide to keep Ten Hag after coming up empty-handed with a strangely diverse group of candidates—that is, if Ten Hag is content to remain in this humiliating limbo for an extended period of time.

At a time when Manchester United was expecting to demonstrate how it is finally embracing modernity, it is an absolute embarrassment. Ratcliffe has already been embarrassed by the job Edwards performed in hiring Slot, demonstrating Liverpool’s cunning in luring him back.