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Ed Woodward to depart after final disastrous act in reign of error

United chief brings forward announcement of departure amid collapse of Super League plans

Ed Woodward Expand
Ed Woodward

Mike McGrath

Ed Woodward, Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman, has confirmed he is resigning as plans for a breakaway European Super League suffered a sudden collapse last night.

The 49-year-old had been a pivotal figure in the launch of the plan over the weekend, but his exit was confirmed within an hour of the first departures of Chelsea and Manchester City from the group yesterday before other four English clubs, including Manchester United, followed later.

Sources close to Woodward claimed he had been due for some time to stand down at the end of this year, but the announcement that he will leave has been brought forward as it was feared the news would be leaked. Despite a disastrous 48 hours for the breakaway project and for the club’s ownership, United insiders insist the situation remains “amicable”.

The club confirmed the news in a statement, with Woodward saying: “I am extremely proud to have served United, and it has been an honour to work for the world’s greatest football club.

“The club is well positioned for the future, and it will be difficult to walk away at the end of the year. I will treasure the memories from my time at Old Trafford, during a period when we won the Europa League, the FA Cup and the EFL Cup. I am proud of the regeneration of the club’s culture and our return to the Manchester United way of playing.

“We have invested more than £1bn in the squad during my time here, and I am particularly delighted with the progress the players have made under the astute leadership of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his coaching team in the last two years.

“I am sure that with the changes we have made on-field and to the coaching and football staff in recent years, this great club will soon be lifting silverware again. It deserves to. I desperately wanted the club to win the Premier League during my tenure, and I am certain that the foundations are in place for us to win it back for our passionate fans.

“The last 16 months have brought so many unique challenges and the club’s work in the community and around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic has been heroic.

“The financial impact on football clubs has been severe, but United have been one of the most robust and resilient in the face of extraordinary financial pressures. I would like to thank United’s passionate fans for their support during the good and bad times.”

Co-chairman Joel Glazer added: “Ed Woodward has served the club with great distinction. On behalf of everyone at United I would like to place on record our sincere thanks for his tireless work and dedication. His contribution has been massive.”

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Confirmation of his departure comes after UEFA’s president Aleksander Ceferin launched a blistering personal attack on Woodward for misleading him around the coup.

Last Thursday, Ceferin alleges, Woodward rang him to tell the administrator everything he wanted to hear about his Champions League reforms, which were signed off on Monday. “He called me in the evening saying he’s very satisfied with the reforms,” said Ceferin. “We didn’t know we had snakes so close to us.” Woodward had previously been identified by UEFA as a potential chief protagonist in a rebellion, having raised concern just two weeks earlier over commercial rights in the 2024 competition carve-up.

However, to Ceferin’s surprise and delight, Woodward assured him he “fully supports the reforms, and that the only thing he would like to speak about is Financial Fair Play”.

Woodward, Andrea Agnelli of Juventus, Ivan Gazidis of AC Milan and Pedro Lopez Jimenez of Real Madrid gave the UEFA plans their formal thumbs up during a meeting of the European Club Association.

After plans for the ESL were announced on Sunday, Woodward stepped down from his role on UEFA’s Professional Football Strategy Council. The move will sever long-standing ties between Woodward and the Glazer family, after he helped them complete their controversial takeover in 2005. After replacing David Gill as chief executive in 2013, he has been heavily criticised for the club’s failure to challenge for the Premier League.

The club had won 13 Premier League titles when he took on the job, but one of his first major acts was dismissing David Moyes just 10 months into a six-year deal after replacing Alex Ferguson.

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It has been a period of decline for United. Woodward had the task of guiding the club to success after Sir Alex’s retirement, but while profits were banked for the Glazer family, their ‘noisy neighbours’ caught up and overtook their rivals.

His legacy should have been limited to his marquee signings that have not worked, or the appointments of Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal that failed to win a title under his watch. But he will be remembered as the person who tried to take United into the European Super League.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]

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