After the 2021-2022 season, the reign of Ralf Rangnick as the interim coach of Manchester United will be officially over and he will hand over to the club’s incoming coach Erik Ten Hag.
When Manchester United announced him as the interim manager of the club in November 2021, the Premier League club revealed that Ralf Rangnick will serve as the club’s consultant after the 2021-2022 season. The agreement he had with Manchester United was that he would serve as the club’s consultant for two years.
But things have not been going as smoothly as the club’s fans, the club’s board, and even the coach anticipated before now. Things have gotten so bad that Manchester United which ought to be a Premier League title contender is struggling to make it into the top four.
Currently, Manchester United are occupying the 6th spot on the league table with 54 points in 33 games, three points away from 5th placed Arsenal.
They need to beat Arsenal later today, April 23, at 12:30 to stand a chance of wrestling the 4th spot away from the hands of 4th placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Ahead of the game and a day after Manchester United announced the appointment of coach Erik Ten Hag as the club’s permanent coach, Ralf Rangnick granted a press conference at United training facility, Carrington on Friday. During the press conference, reporters asked him whether he was staying behind as the club’s consultant based on the contract he signed with United in 2021.
The 63-year-old German tactician responded that the contract is different from reality, adding that his consultancy role at the club depends on whether the incoming coach would be willing to work with him. He also noted that it depends if Manchester United still deem him fit to advise the club.
Ralf Rangnick said: “We have an agreement on that consultancy role, but in the end, it’s not a question of what has been written on paper or what has been agreed upon, it’s about what will really happen in everyday life and, and in everyday’s business. It’s also important how Erik ten Hag sees that. Does he like to speak with somebody like me? How close does he want to work together? And those are the things we haven’t spoken about yet.
“So for me, I’m not worried about that at all. It’s not a question of having agreed upon a contract or whatever for the next two years – I’m 64 very soon so for me, it’s about what will really happen and how much does Ten Hag and the board of Manchester United really want to know my opinion and have my experience.”
Ralf Rangnick wishes to continue working with Manchester United
Before Ralf Rangnick started his role as the interim coach of Manchester United, he worked with several German clubs including VfB Stuttgart, Schalke 04, and RB Leipzig. Apart from being the coach of RB Leipzig, he served as the club’s director of football for a couple of years.
Aside from German clubs, Rangnick was working as the manager of sports and development for Russian Premier League club Lokomotiv Moscow before Manchester United appointed him as the club’s interim coach.
Unfortunately, he has not been able to lift Manchester United as high as the club’s board and the club’s fans had anticipated which has placed his proposed consultancy role at the club at risk.
But if Rangnick is allowed to decide whether to stay at United or not, he would choose to continue working with the Premier League club which he described as one of the biggest clubs in the world.
He said: “Well, I’m interested and I very much have a feeling with this club after these five-and-a-half months, I still see what kind of options we have, what kind of space for improvement there is, and where we could develop.
“Again, having seen Liverpool play against us, having seen what happened in other clubs and we also spoke about Arsenal’s progress, why should this not be possible here? This is one of the biggest clubs in the world, we have perfect training conditions, we have a fantastic stadium… We have massive fan support, probably the best fan support I’ve ever experienced apart from Schalke in Germany. This is just amazing. And of course, I would want to be part of that process. I don’t know if this is can happen and how this is really appreciated and wanted.”
🗣️ “It’s not cosmetic, It’s open heart surgery.”
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 23, 2022
Ralf Rangnick has warned that there will be no quick fix at Old Trafford under incoming manager Erik ten Hag. 🔴 pic.twitter.com/AvYlSVgrsB
