Cristiano Ronaldo’s ex-boss reveals he was twice interviewed for Manchester United job

Rudi Garcia has revealed he came close to becoming Manchester United manager in 2021.

The Frenchman was amongst the candidates to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Old Trafford dugout five years ago.

Solskjaer was dismissed by the Red Devils following a crushing 4-1 defeat at Watford, ending his three-year stint in charge.

With his exit coming midway through the season, United opted to appoint an interim boss until the end of the campaign.

United manager hunt

And former Belgium boss Garcia has now revealed he was in the running for the role and was interviewed twice by the club.

At the time, he had been out of work following his departure from Lyon at the end of the previous season.

The 62-year-old had spent just under two years with the club as well as previously winning a league and cup double with Lille in 2011.

However, Garcia missed out on the job as Ralf Rangnick was ultimately appointed in December 2021 on a deal until the summer.

Recalling how close he came to securing the United job, Garcia told The Athletic: “Yes, I interviewed twice to work in this fantastic club, one of the best clubs in the world.

“I’d like to work in England and I met Darren Fletcher and John Murtough.

“It was an interim role and they asked me what I would do once it was over.

“I told them I would do so well that I would be staying in Manchester, but they gave the job to Ralf.”

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Rangnick went on to guide United to a sixth place finish in the Premier League in his brief tenure.

The German was succeeded by Erik ten Hag in the summer of 2022 as the club’s new boss.

Ten Hag would be the first of four permanent managers to be appointed by United in just over four years.

He was replaced by Ruben Amorim in November 2024 before Michael Carrick succeeded the Portuguese earlier this year.

Following the former United midfielder’s sacking on Thursday, Mauricio Pochettino has now been announced as the club’s latest manager.

The former Tottenham Hotspur boss will officially take over on Thursday after signing a deal until the summer of 2029.

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Who is Rudi Garcia?

As for Garcia, he would return to the dugout with Al Nassr, where he would sign Cristiano Ronaldo following his United exit.

However, his tenure would last less than a season before he was ousted in April 2023.

Garcia took over at Napoli three months later, but was dismissed just 12 matches into the 2023/24 Serie A season.

His most recent role saw him guide Belgium to the quarter-finals of this summer’s World Cup before departing after their defeat to eventual winners Spain.