Manchester United is going through an extremely complicated period. Despite a Europa League final planned against Tottenham, the Red Devils, led by Ruben Amorim, are dangerously flirting with the Premier League relegation. The Portuguese technician, who arrived last November, failed to reverse the trend. In this chaotic context, a shock declaration has just arisen: a renowned French coach claims to have recently refused an approach to Manchester United.
In reality, the coach in question is Rudi Garcia, the current coach of Belgium, and the approach does not date from recent weeks, but from the fall of 2021. In an interview published this Wednesday in Le Parisien, Garcia said that he was close to joining Old Trafford at that time, before the club finally chose Ralf Rangnick.
“With Manchester United, we went very far in the discussions. I was in the final with Rangnick, but they preferred it to me ”, he explains with a slight regret.
United in crisis: what if Rudi Garcia had been the missing solution?
This failed meeting with Manchester United is all the more striking since Garcia could have trained Cristiano Ronaldo. “I would have liked to work with him, it would have been great. I am convinced that we would have done very good things together ”adds the Belgian coach. Ironically, Garcia was finally able to rub shoulders with CR7 for a few months in Al-Nassr, Saudi Arabia, without being able to reach the success hoped for in United.
Manchester United still in search of stability
If Garcia has not joined Manchester United, he does not have to be ashamed of his career. After training several major French clubs such as Lille, Marseille and Lyon, he won on the international scene, notably with AS Roma in the early 2010s. Today coach of Belgium, he hopes to guide the Red Devils towards success during the 2026 World Cup, thus pursuing a career rich in challenges.
Although the offer made to Garcia dates back several years, this revelation falls at a sensitive moment for Manchester United, recalling the club's difficulties in finding real stability on the bench for several seasons. Ruben Amorim is currently struggling to convince, and the shadow of this failed meeting with Garcia could weigh a little more on the morale of Mancunian supporters.
