Manchester United CEO who caused 2021 controversy now set to leave Old Trafford

Manchester United’s CEO of digital products and experiences, Phil Lynch, is set to leave Old Trafford for a new role three years after he created controversy.

Manchester United‘s CEO of digital products and experiences, Phil Lynch, caused controversy in 2021 after he revealed that the club had twice-daily checks to understand fan perception to try and change the opinions of Old Trafford fans.

According to The Athletic, Lynch is now set to leave Manchester United in order to pursue a new role within sport.

Read More: Man United have already suggested INEOS have made Erik ten Hag decision

In 2021, Lynch said: “We pull, twice a day, fan sentiment graphs for every one of our players. We have certain thresholds that alert us when we see fan sentiment going one way — be that a personal issue, an on-pitch performance issue and when that happens, we then start to work with the player and his team individually to try and counter that narrative a little bit.”

This started a whole host of angry responses by both fans and former players, who explained that they felt that the club trying to sway fan opinion was “controlling”.

Former captain Gary Neville, in a quote post, said at the time: “Creating Robots on and off the pitch! Get the f@@k away from them. It’s a football club. He makes controlling fans sound like he’s trying to win a general election!”

The Athletic report has suggested that although Lynch was admired by many, he became a symbol of the approach Manchester United have taken under the rule of the Glazer family, focusing on image and a commercial perspective rather than focusing on football.

This is the approach that INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who are now officially running all sporting operations at the club, are planning to take in the future.

Ratcliffe himself explained this to reporters last week, saying: “If we’re successful on the pitch, then everything else will follow. In Manchester United a bit, I think, in the last 10 years or so, it’s if you’re really good in commercial and you make lots of money, then you’ll be successful in football because you’ve got lots of money to spend.”