City Football Group (CFG) executive Carlos Raphael Moersen is in advanced talks to take up the role of director of football operations at Tottenham Hotspur.
The deal is not yet complete but is expected to be finalised soon.
Moersen, known as ‘Rafi’, has spent the last 10 years working for CFG clubs and currently serves as the company’s director of football transactions. He is part of the ‘global football’ operation led by CFG’s managing director, the one-time England international Brian Marwood. Moersen has risen quickly through CFG, where he is highly rated, and his role includes negotiating contracts with current and prospective Manchester City players, with the Etihad Stadium team serving as CFG’s flagship club.
After Omar Berrada left to become chief executive at rivals Manchester United in July 2024, Moersen split Berrada’s remit with global football business director Clive Reeves and stepped up to support former City director of football Txiki Begiristain in negotiations as his right-hand man. Begiristain left the club in July this year and was replaced by Hugo Viana.
A move to Tottenham would make him the latest appointment in what has been a year of change at executive level in north London.
Former Arsenal executive Vinai Venkatesham was appointed Spurs CEO in April 2024, before it was announced in June that long-serving executive director Donna-Maria Cullen had stepped down.
The most significant change of the last 12 months came in September, when former chairman Daniel Levy left the club in September after 24 years. Tottenham announced that Levy had “stepped down”, though the decision was taken by the club’s majority shareholders, the Lewis family. Peter Charrington was hired as non-executive chairman.
On October 15, Spurs confirmed the return of Fabio Paratici to the club as a joint-sporting director alongside Johan Lange. This followed the end of a 30-month ban from football activity after being accused of financial malpractice while at Italian club Juventus. Within the official announcement confirming Paratici’s return, Tottenham said they would be starting recruitment for a new a director of football operations.
Later that month, The Athletic reported that Rebecca Caplehorn, Tottenham’s head of administration and football governance would leave the club following the January transfer window after more than 10 years with the club.
Moersen graduated from George Washington University and worked for D.C. United before joining CFG club New York City FC in 2015. He held several roles there and at City before moving into the wider CFG operation in 2020.
Additional reporting: Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jordan Campbell