Sir Dave Brailsford, one of Britain's most influential sporting figures, helped Aaron Ramsey revive his Nice career... and he could be part of Manchester United's board very soon.
That is because Brailsford is INEOS' director of sport. It is believed the former head of British Cycling visited Old Trafford with Sir Jim Ratcliffe when the INEOS chief met United's CEO Richard Arnold and Erik ten Hag to discuss a possible takeover from the Glazers
Ratcliffe wants to buy United but faces competition from Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and other parties. Brailsford is viewed as Ratcliffe's 'right-hand man' when it comes to sport and will surely have a say at Old Trafford if their bid is successful.
Wales take on Croatia in Split on Saturday night, with Ramsey set to captain his country for the first time since being named as Robert Page's new full-time skipper. The 32-year-old previously held the captaincy before being stripped of the honour in October 2012.
Ramsey may have been concerned about assuming the captaincy after what happened nearly 11 years ago. It is believed he considered quitting international football altogether after Wales' dismal World Cup campaign, as they picked up just a point in Qatar.
Ramsey was also worried about his career with Nice, the French club Ratcliffe owns. Nice were struggling in Ligue 1 before the World Cup in Qatar, with Ramsey battling for minutes. It is claimed the Wales international was struggling to settle in France.
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Yet Ramsey is now flourishing. He is playing regularly and has helped Nice climb up to seventh in Ligue 1 after losing just one game since the World Cup. As per the Daily Mail, the turning point in Ramsey's campaign was a chat with Brailsford just before Christmas.
It is believed the experienced coach spoke to Ramsey to persuade him to carry on and gave him an extended break over Christmas to consider his future. That worked a treat, with Ramsey now pondering whether to sign a new contract with Nice. Another factor in Ramsey's revival was Didier Digard succeeding Lucien Favre as manager in January.
While Brailsford is not known as a football man, his experience in handling elite athletes is priceless for Nice and INEOS' sporting arm. Brailsford's 'one per cent factor' and belief in marginal gains helped Team GB achieve phenomenal success at the Olympics.
Under Brailsford's leadership, Team GB led the cycling medal table at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics - helping Sir Jason Kenny, Sir Chris Hoy, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Dame Laura Kenny become sporting icons. Cycling remains a strength for Britain at the Olympics.
Brailsford is also the general manager of INEOS Grenadiers, a cycling team which was formerly known as Team Sky. Since Brailsford joined in 2010, the team have won the Tour de France six times through Wiggins, Chris Froome (four times) and Geraint Thomas.
If Ratcliffe becomes the new owner of United, Brailsford's expertise would surely be called on at Old Trafford. The British billionaire has submitted a second bid for the club, but is unclear at this stage whether he's done enough to persuade the Glazers to sell up.
