Manchester United have reportedly hired a Formula One serial champion as their new data expert in an attempt to harness AI to change their fortunes.
Mike Sansoni, who spent 11 years at Mercedes F1 and helped the team win eight world championships, has joined United as director of analytics.
According to The Irish Independent, Sansoni, Mercedes’ senior performance engineer and first-time football employee, takes Dominic Jordan’s place after he left United last year.
However, because Ineos owns a minority share in Mercedes, Sansoni is well-known to Jim Ratcliffe, a co-owner of United, and will report to chief executive Omar Berrada at Old Trafford.
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United will add more members to his team after laying off 450 employees because they want Sansoni to leverage his expertise in analytics and artificial intelligence to make a significant impact.
They said: “He has been tasked with establishing Manchester United as a data-led organisation, embedding predictive and AI-driven decision-making across football and the wider club.”
Kirstin Furber, a former director of Channel 4, has also been named United’s new people director.
Furber has been on the boards of the London Football Association and British Wheelchair Basketball. He has also worked for other broadcasters, including BBC Worldwide and 20th Century Fox.
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