Brailsford is director of sport at INEOS, the company owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has bought 25 per cent of United. The former performance director at British Cycling has been carrying out an audit behind the scenes at the club ahead of the time when Ratcliffe’s deal is officially ratified and he takes sporting control from the Glazer family.

He has been pictured in the stands at recent United matches and was sat next to Sir Alex Ferguson during the miserable 2-1 defeat by Nottingham Forest. Brailsford has been gathering information on how the club currently runs and what improvements can be made once INEOS are through the door and Sky Sports says he will address some of the issues raised by Ronaldo when he spoke to Piers Morgan in November 2022.

Ronaldo was highly critical of a number of things at United, claiming that nothing had changed in the 12 years between his departure to Real Madrid in 2009 and his return from Juventus in 2021. “I was surprised, in a bad way, let’s say in that way because I saw everything was the same,” he said.

He added: “At United, the progress was zero, in my opinion. To compare with Real Madrid and even Juventus, that they follow the rest of the world, so the technology, especially in terms of training, nutrition and conditions of, eat properly and to recover better than before – surprised me.

“Manchester right now to compare with that club, I think it’s behind in my opinion, which is something that surprised me. A club with this dimension should be the top of the tree in my opinion and they are not, unfortunately.”

Brailsford is expected to try and change the culture at United, who have struggled for consistency on the pitch ever since Ferguson stepped down as manager in May 2013. A refurbishment of Old Trafford has been mooted, with Ratcliffe committing £245million to the project, while improvements at the training ground are also needed.

Sir Dave Brailsford is ready to implement changes at Manchester United ( Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Ratcliffe’s statement said: “Whilst the commercial success of the club has ensured there have always been available funds to win trophies at the highest level, this potential has not been fully unlocked in recent times.

“We will bring the global knowledge, expertise and talent from the wider INEOS Sport group to help drive further improvement at the club, while also providing funds intended to enable future investment into Old Trafford.”

Back in October, United unveiled a new £7m facility at Carrington for the women’s team and academy sides. The building, which took seven months to complete, contains a gym, jacuzzi, changing rooms, players’ lounge, restaurant and meeting rooms.