Ineos Grenadiers soigneur David Rozman, who has recently been linked to the doctor at the centre of the Operation Aderlass doping case, spent a brief period working at Manchester United football club in 2024, according to reports in The Guardian and The Times.
At the beginning of the Tour de France, Rozman was linked to convicted doping doctor Mark Schmidt through texts from 2012 that were revealed in a 2020 court case surrounding Operation Aderlass.
The Slovenian soigneur, who has been with Team Sky and then Ineos since 2011, was then called to attend a fresh interview with the International Testing Association (ITA), and left the Tour mid-race.
Ineos said in a statement at the time they had received "no evidence from any relevant authority", and the court case texts remain the only thing linking Rozman to the Aderlass case at present.
However, the story is rumbling on, and on Thursday, The Guardian and The Times reported that Rozman spent a month working at Manchester United last year, while Ineos director of sport Dave Brailsford was working closely with the club.
The two papers say that sources at the club have confirmed that Rozman spent four weeks working with the team's soft tissue therapists, as part of a programme that saw staff members from Ineos' various sports teams spend time working in a different sport.
The Guardian refers to the scheme as a "knowledge exchange", meaning Rozman was likely at United on a placement basis, rather than having any formal or employment relationship with the club.
It is not clear exactly when in 2024 the placement happened, though it pre-dates the first media allegations of a link between Rozman and the Operation Aderlass court case, and pre-dates United having any knowledge of any link, according to The Times.
Dave Brailsford, who helped found Team Sky, worked as the team's principal for several years and was named director of sport at Ineos in 2021, which latterly saw him become involved with operations at Manchester United following Ineos' investment in the club in 2021.
In June, it was revealed that Brailsford would be taking a step back from the football team, and in July, he joined Ineos Grenadiers at the Tour de France as he returned to a more involved role in the cycling arm of Ineos Sport.
As team principal, when the alleged texts between Rozman and Schmidt were sent – and, it is now suggested, a senior figure at Manchester United when Rozman spent time there – Brailsford has been a subject of questioning by the press, but has so far declined to speak publicly on the matter, with Ineos instead responding via team statements.
Cyclingnews has contacted Ineos Grenadiers for comment regarding David Rozman's time at Manchester United.
