Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak believes the recruitment of their staff by other clubs, particularly Manchester United, is a testament to City’s leadership in world football. United recently poached Omar Berrada to be their new CEO and appointed former City academy director Jason Wilcox as technical director. Additionally, United recruited Toby Craig, City’s director of corporate affairs, as their chief communications officer.
Al Mubarak expressed pride in these developments, viewing them as indicators of City’s excellence at all levels. “It tells you we are very good at what we do at every level,” Al Mubarak said. He emphasized that the departure of staff for successful careers elsewhere demonstrates City’s effective systems and leadership.
“It confirms a) that we’re doing it right, b) the people, c) that we have a system, that we have great leadership, that we have great management and a system that continues to produce talent at every level,” Al Mubarak added. He highlighted that people leaving for new challenges is natural and that City remains proud of their contributions to their staff’s careers.
In his end-of-season address to City’s in-house media team, Al Mubarak also stressed the importance of maintaining positive relationships with departing staff. “They leave with respect for how this club has helped them in their careers and they’ll always have, I think, a positive memory of the time we spent. We stay friends,” he said.
Al Mubarak acknowledged that while City will do everything to retain key personnel, losing some is a natural part of the evolution of a successful club.