Revealed: Dan Ashworth’s 12-word interview answer that caused his Manchester United departure

According to a new report, a 12-word phrase uttered by Dan Ashworth in September led to his eventual departure as Manchester United’s sporting director.

Dan Ashworth has left his role as sporting director at Manchester United just five months after joining from Premier League rivals Newcastle United.

Ashworth was brought in over the summer as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s efforts to overhaul Manchester United’s management structure.

Read More: “Weak…” Gary Neville calls out Sir Jim Ratcliffe over “shocking” Dan Ashworth Manchester United decision

His appointment followed a drawn-out process, during which Ashworth served six months of gardening leave. United ultimately paid around £3 million in compensation to secure his early release from Newcastle.

However, despite the significant investment in his recruitment, Ashworth’s tenure has ended abruptly, with his departure coming shortly after United’s 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening.

Reports suggest that while CEO Omar Berrada conducted the talks that finalized Ashworth’s exit, co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was a major force behind the decision, despite being a key figure in his appointment just months earlier.

Ashworth’s big mistake

According to the Daily Mail, tensions started when Ashworth publicly claimed that the decision to keep Erik ten Hag at the club in the summer was made prior to the arrivals of him and Berrada, saying: “that was a decision that was taken prior to both of our arrivals.”

He continued: “But as I said before, we’re very happy with that decision. Erik has our full backing and we have worked very closely together, as Dan said before, in this transfer window. We’re going to continue working very closely with him to help him get the best results out of the team.”

The Mail report explains that these comments went down “like a lead balloon” with Ratcliffe, who then distanced himself with the decision to keep Ten Hag a few weeks later.

It is said that the comments “infuriated” Ratcliffe and played a part in his eventual demise at the club, leading to his dismissal.

Other reports have also claimed that, in general, Ashworth and the rest of the club’s leadership team had different ideas regarding the club’s trajectory and that another point of tension was the appointment of Rúben Amorim.

A report on Sunday claimed that Ashworth wanted to appoint Gareth Southgate as the side’s new manager, but Berrada, as CEO, chose to head in the direction of Amorim.

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