Zinedine Zidane, who was unexpectedly selected for the position by the club’s new sports director Dan Ashworth, is set to reject any attempt by Manchester United to install him as Erik Ten Hag’s replacement this summer.
The Dutchman led Manchester United to the FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals last season, winning the latter, and a top-three result that guaranteed a much-needed return to the Champions League. It was a progressive first season under his leadership. Nevertheless, not much has gone right this time around, as Ten Hag seems to bounce from one issue to the next and is unable to get a reliable performance out of his lavishly built team.
Thankfully, they advanced to the FA Cup quarterfinals following a close and somewhat lucky victory over Nottingham Forest in the middle of the week. However, they must start winning more games in the Premier League after Fulham’s 2-1 victory at Old Trafford last weekend ended their unbeaten streak in 2024.
Even though United has only lost once in their first nine games of the season, their performance in this weekend’s derby against Manchester City will show exactly where they stand as a team. A loss could potentially increase their deficit to fourth-place Aston Villa to an alarming 11 points.
It is therefore not surprising that Ten Hag has been under intense pressure over the past week, with rumors growing that he would not be able to hold onto his position heading into the 2024–2025 season.
In light of this, our exclusive revelation from Friday revealed that Ten Hag’s dismissal as manager has already been decided upon and that many at Old Trafford already believe he is a dead man walking.
Zinedine Zidane chooses three jobs he would take and rules himself out of the Man Utd race.
New minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe and newly appointed sporting director Dan Ashworth will make any decisions on his future.
Although Ashworth is presently on gardening leave from Newcastle as the two clubs attempt to agree on a settlement price, he has had several discussions with Ratcliffe about the path he thinks the club should go. Despite this, Ashworth has not yet received the go-ahead to begin working at United.
Jean-Claude Blanc, the director of INEOS, is another close ally of Ratcliffe’s and is anticipated to join United in the upcoming weeks. Renowned in the industry for having held comparable positions at PSG and Juventus, Blanc is believed to have suggested the great Zidane apply for the position.
Zidane, according to many publications, is prepared to turn down any attempt to join United.
Furthermore, Zidane would not hesitate to reject the offer if it were made to him, according to people close to the iPaper.
“You can choose the ideal role when you have achieved what Zizou has, both as a manager and a player,” the source stated. “At the moment, United isn’t that. He has never made an effort to fully learn the language and has often stated that he does not truly want to live in England. That won’t alter right now.
RMC Sport concurs with that assertion, and Thomas Gravesen—who was acquainted with Zidane during his own Real Madrid tenure—has listed the three positions for which he would go back to the dugout.
Gravesen told Discovery Denmark, “I spoke to Zidane in Madrid two years ago and he told me that there were only three roles he would like to accept: Marseille, Madrid, and the French team.”
Two years ago, when we were in Madrid, he told me precisely that. I inquired further if he was prepared to resume coaching. Then he informed me that these three were the only options available.
Dan Ashworth selects his fantasy Man United manager
However, it appears that INEOS executives may still take action, provided they swiftly come up with a backup plan.
I claim that Graham Potter’s name is the one that comes up most frequently at United.
The 48-year-old is still unemployed after Chelsea fired him last year for not getting the desired results from their lavishly assembled team.
Even though some would doubt his suitability for an even more important position at United, Ashworth is reportedly a huge fan of Potter and collaborated closely with him when Potter was in charge of Brighton.
As a result, it’s said that Ashworth persuaded Ratcliffe to consider Potter and provided detailed explanations of his footballing philosophy to help Potter succeed at United.
According to rumors, Ralf Rangnick, the former interim manager of United, has recommended Julian Nagelsmann as a further name to examine.
