When Manchester United poached Omar Berrada from Manchester City, they would have hoped the Spaniard would bring some key knowledge from a rival, and that is exactly what has happened.
For all the faults of Manchester City, and there are many, nobody can deny their squad-building acumen, even though having an endless pit of cash helps.
Omar Berrada came from that club which, despite spending a lot, spent it wisely, and always managed to offload at the correct time to turn profits as well.
After three windows under Ineos, with the third one ongoing, it is clear that one transfer strategy has been brought by Berrada to Old Trafford, and it’s being followed to a tee.
Leny Yoro of Manchester United applauds the fans with team-mates at the end of the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 Semi Final Second Leg match between Manchester United and Athletic Club at Old Trafford on May 8, 2025
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Omar Berrada’s transfer strategy at Man City
Like Jason Wilcox is at United, Txiki Begiristain was tasked with the director of football role that covers recruitment and negotiations.
However, just like at City, Berrada is in a leadership role where he can drive vision and strategy, which is exactly what he’s done with transfers.
Looking through the transfers made by City under Pep Guardiola while Omar Berrada was there, one thing stands out in particular.
Even though they spent a lot of money and continue to do so, there is only one outlier in terms of transfer fees.
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Except for Jack Grealish, no player bought by Man City in those seven years or so exceeded the cost of £65m in reported transfer fees.
Josko Gvardiol was brought for about £78m, but by then, Berrada probably had one foot towards Man Utd, and still, two players in nearly 15 transfer windows is an outlier.
Every window, they bought multiple players in that £60-65m mark, but rarely spent an outlier fee on a single player, which could invite pressure and scrutiny.
Man Utd are executing Berrada’s strategy perfectly
Man United have bought nine players for the first team under Ineos (counting Bryan Mbeumo and Ayden Heaven), and the highest spend is set to be on Mbeumo.
Mbeumo would be for about £65m, just a shade over the money spent on Cunha’s release clause, which was £62.5m.
Before these two players, Leny Yoro cost the most under Ineos, arriving for close to £52m initial fee with addons taking it to about £59m.
Gone are the days of spending £85m on Antony, or £89m on Paul Pogba, that separated them from the pack and increased scrutiny on the player and United.
Berrada’s Man City spent a lot of money, but on multiple players in the same range, instead of splashing it all on a single asset.
United are walking the same path, and it has worked perfectly so far, with no player being bogged down by their fee last season, and the same will continue this season.
Berrada has brought some competence with him to Man Utd, and the fans won’t care that it has come from City. The club sorely needed it.