Sir Dave Brailsford remains “the Godfather” of Ineos Grenadiers despite stepping aside as team principal, says new boss John Allert.

Brailsford, 59, has been in control of cycling affairs since the team’s inception as Team Sky in 2010.

However, he is now preparing to join the football board at Manchester United after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group acquired a 25% stake in the club.

“He’s the founder of this team,” said new chief executive Allert.

“Dave’s the Godfather of this team. It’s actually a privilege that we will still have him accessible to the team.

“He probably has greater bandwidth than anybody I’ve ever worked with. His primary focus is on the performance of a variety of different sports teams.

“Clearly he has a passion for and a proven track record in cycling, so don’t ever be surprised to see Dave come on race. But he won’t be coming on race to mark our homework. He’ll be there to support the team as he does all the teams.”

Under Brailsford, the Sky and Ineos teams enjoyed huge success, including seven Tour de France titles, three Giro d’Italia wins and two Vuelta a Espana victories, but his reign was also marked by controversy.

In August last year, former British Cycling and Team Sky chief medic Richard Freeman was banned from all sport for four years for violating anti-doping rules.

In 2018, Brailsford appeared before a parliamentary committee to answer questions on the contents of a mystery “jiffy bag” Freeman had instructed be delivered to Sir Bradley Wiggins before a 2011 race, amid an allegation it contained the banned anti-inflammatory drug triamcinolone.

Freeman and Brailsford maintained the bag contained legal flu medication, and ultimately a parliamentary committee said it was unable to determine what was inside the jiffy bag, but a report by MPs accused Team Sky of “crossing an ethical line” in its use of therapeutic use exemptions more broadly.

Brailsford, British Cycling, Team Sky and Team Ineos have always denied any wrongdoing.