Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada reportedly made a telling comment in front of Sir Alex Ferguson during a celebratory dinner on Friday. Berrada was among the guests invited to commemorate 40 years since Ferguson took charge of the Red Devils, moving from Aberdeen to replace Ron Atkinson in 1986. Michael Carrick, who is expected to be sacked after overseeing United's worst start to a season in four decades, was also in attendance.

At one point, according to the Daily Mail, Berrada spoke about the importance of building a culture at United, which has been sorely lacking in recent years.

United have arguably been without a proper culture since Ferguson left the club in 2013, having gone through seven permanent bosses in just 13 years.

They have steadily fallen down the pecking order of English football, to the point that even promoted sides aren't afraid of facing them.

Berrada has been among the chief architects of United's brutal slide over the last few seasons, having been recruited as the club's chief executive since 2024.

Alongside the likes of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Jason Wilcox, his arrival brought hope that things could finally be about to turn around for the Red Devils. However, it has simply been more of the same.

Make sure you don't miss the biggest sports news and strongest opinion by making the Daily Express one of your Google preferred sources.

Together, they have overseen the erosion of unity in the dressing room, with reports of player discontent for various reasons making the headlines on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, their questionable treatment of Carrick, who was made to lead training on Wednesday despite his exit being almost inevitable, has done little to demonstrate the 'culture' that Berrada so desperately wants to push.

Actions speak louder than words and, so far, there is nothing to suggest that United's top brass are remotely interested in bringing a proper culture to the club. Either that, or they are just grossly incompetent at doing so.

Gary Neville has been among those to call out Berrada and Wilcox for their repeated failures since moving to Old Trafford, suggesting they are not qualified to wield such power at one of the world's biggest clubs.

Speaking on his podcast last month, Neville said: "Jason Wilcox again shouldn't be in the position. Jason Wilcox is a technical director who's had an academy director background who's making a journey up underneath a sporting director.

"All of a sudden, he's then making the biggest decisions at one of the biggest football clubs in the world. And again, he's been thrust into a position ahead of his time.

"Omar Berrada is obviously someone who's not been at a CEO position before in a football club. So, there's a lack of experience just generally in the roles that they're carrying. And it's all coming home to roost again.

"Michael Carrick hasn't picked all those players out on that pitch. That's not Michael Carrick's job. So, who's the head of recruitment? Who's the sporting director?

"That's where all eyes should be looked at now because the reality of it is the manager will get replaced, but they got it wrong three times.

"And then before that, the Glazers got it wrong four or five times. They didn't even have a sporting director in for 10 years. It was pathetic. So, this club's been run by incompetence for a long time."