Best in Britain: shrewd INEOS appointment turns United from zeroes to heroes in crucial department – report

“We’re still in the last century.” That was Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s damning assessment of Manchester United’s use of analytics in December 2024 as the British billionaire poured scorn over the club’s recruitment department in recent years. But just under twelve months on, the BBC reveals, it’s the data department which has seen the biggest drive to improve with INEOS seeking to streamline operations at Old Trafford – and United are now amongst the Premier League’s best with statistical analysis. Different Sport, Same Process One key part of INEOS’s approach to improve United’s use of data was to look beyond football, instead drawing upon expertise from the sport where analytics reigns king: Formula 1. As part of Ratcliffe’s broad sporting empire, INEOS retain a 33% controlling share of Mercedes – one of F1’s premier teams. And it was from this team that United’s rulers appointed their new director of data at Old Trafford, with Michael Sansoni arriving in Manchester in April, despite having zero experience within professional football. However, the BBC describes this as one of INEOS’s “least surprising moves” with the firm belief that mastery of data relating to wheels on a track would seamlessly translate to data about feet on a pitch. “It was felt that Formula 1 was the sport at the cutting edge of data and AI use. The performance of every single component is monitored in fine detail, and success and failure can be measured in hundredths of a second. “As a result, Michael Sansoni’s arrival from the Mercedes F1 team as director of data in April was one of the least surprising moves. [He] has completely revamped United’s data capabilities, which are now being used extensively across performance, recruitment and training.” Amongst the Best in England The result of Sansoni’s brief, but integral, time at the Theatre of Dreams has been to drag United from the past right to the forefront of analytics in the Premier League. One well-placed source states the use of data has been “accelerated” to such an extent that the club is now “among the top four teams” in England – a dramatic transformation. And the effect has been felt on the pitch, courtesy of spreadsheets and statistics being used to dictate signings in the summer. United spent over £200 million signing Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens. And while a transfer window can never be judged accurately so soon after its completion, the early signs have been positive – as demonstrated by the analysis below. Man United’s signings under INEOS – Ratings SigningsRating / 10 Leny Yoro9 Joshua Zirkzee4 Matthijs de Ligt8 Noussair Mazraoui8.5 Manuel Ugarte2 Ayden Heaven8 Patrick Dorgu5 Matheus Cunha8 Bryan Mbeumo9 Benjamin Sesko7 Senne Lammens10 There was a clear upward trend in United’s signings this summer in comparison to last – with Sansoni’s department playing a key role in the decision-making process. Featured image by Justin Setterfield via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Darragh Fox Darragh is an editor for The Peoples Person who spent three years learning about the Cold War at the University of Sheffield slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about. Amad’s first touch should be officially recognised as the eighth wonder of the world.