Man Utd chiefs Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Jason Wilcox
Manchester United have reportedly discovered whether director of football Jason Wilcox will face punishment, as the 55-year-old worked at Manchester City while they were finalising ‘sham’ contracts with their sponsors.
Man City are facing major sanctions after being found guilty by an independent panel of breaking the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules on an industrial scale. City saved £900million between 2009 and 2018 by using ‘sham’ deals with commercial partners to hide additional payments made by their owners.
Several pundits have urged the Premier League to strip the Cityzens of their titles. The club could also face a transfer ban, fine, points deduction or even relegation from the top flight.
United chiefs Wilcox and Omar Berrada both worked at the Etihad during the era of City’s cheating.
Wilcox held roles as City’s U18 manager and head of academy coaching before becoming their academy boss in October 2017. He spent a year at Southampton before joining United in 2024.
Berrada, meanwhile, was a commercial director for City before being named their chief operating officer in September 2016, eventually landing at Old Trafford in 2024.
Journalist Ben Jacobs has told The United Stand that Wilcox was too far down the pyramid at City to face potential punishment.
Jacobs added that those close to Berrada seem unconcerned by the ruling, despite the Moroccan having more involvement in City’s dealings.
Last week, United reporter Samuel Luckhurst wrote for The Sun: ‘Berrada is privately insistent that he is not implicated in any alleged wrongdoing.
‘The 48-year-old was involved in delicate dealings during his time at the Etihad.
‘Berrada was filmed discussing a new contract with sporting director Txiki Begiristain for midfielder Fernandinho in January 2018 on the club’s Amazon Prime documentary.’
Gary Neville wants Man City owners ‘removed’
City wrote in a club statement earlier this week that they are ‘disappointed and surprised’ by the commission’s verdict, calling it ‘opinion’.
City insist they are ‘innocent’ and are ready to appeal.
On The Overlap, former United captain Gary Neville said: “Manchester City will recover as a football club because Manchester City have been there longer than these owners, they’ll be there long after them, and it’s got an immense history.
“Points deductions, fines, transfer bans, removing the titles – not giving them to others, just removing the titles – it’s significant punishments. The only punishment that would be fair would be to have huge consequences – the biggest consequence – would be removing the owners.
“That is the only consequence if I was Manchester City that I would be worried about. And as a fan of Manchester City, if you wanted to keep the investment that you’ve currently got, that would be the one I’d be most concerned about.
“However, if you’re in football and you’re thinking about consequences, what can be more serious than industrial-level financial doping that we’ve seen and they’ve been found guilty of? I’m not celebrating…”
Double Man Utd transfer ’embarrassment’ ignites Jason Wilcox sack calls
Double Man Utd transfer ’embarrassment’ ignites Jason Wilcox sack calls