Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has speculated why Dan Ashworth left Old Trafford just five months after coming on as the club’s Sporting Director. Ferdinand believes Ashworth could not be effective as part of a three alongside Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, as he had always been a one-man show.
Dan Ashworth Left Manchester United After Just 5 Months
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On Sunday, December 8, Manchester United announced the club had parted ways with Ashworth by mutual consent. The announcement came as a shock, as Man Utd had only signed Ashworth from Newcastle United in July. According to The Athletic, Manchester United instigated the process of severing ties with Ashworth.
In an attempt to unearth the reason behind Ashworth’s exit, a report from The Daily Mail has claimed that his comments about Erik ten Hag infuriated Sir Jim Ratcliffe, paving the way for his untimely departure. Speaking at an interview in early September, Ashworth and Berrada said the decision to keep Ten Hag after the 2023-24 season was not theirs.
It is also believed that Ashworth was not happy with [Ruben Amorim](https://sportslens.com/news/arsenal-manchester-united-gunners-set-pieces-ruben-amorim-laments-aggression/)‘s appointment, as he wanted to see an English manager at the helm. Former England boss Gareth Southgate was reportedly his candidate of choice.
Rio Ferdinand Speculates Reason Behind Dan Ashworth’s Departure
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On his YouTube channel, ex-United star Ferdinand presented a different theory.
He said (via Football365):
“_You have to remember that the jobs where he’s been before, and he’s been hugely successful, whether it be at Brighton, West Brom, Newcastle or with England with the FA, he’s kind of been a lone ranger, on his own, the main guy dictating and having final say on a lot of things that go on._
“_That was a very different situation at United where you’ve got Wilcox and Berrada there, who are heading up the football operations together as a three. And then overriding that, Sir David Brailsford and Sir Jim Ratcliffe. So it’s a committee approach rather than one man making the decisions, maybe Dan Ashworth couldn’t get to grips with that and wanted autonomy over everything, he wanted his fingerprints over everything_.”
He concluded by adding:
“_If I’m looking in, my honest opinion is that it’s a different way of working for him and he hasn’t been able to maybe adjust to it_.”
It will be interesting to see who Manchester United brings to fill the much sought-after position in the coming months.
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