20-time English champions Manchester United are struggling for relevancy at the moment. They haven’t been able to put up a strong Premier League title challenge in years and their football has been far from convincing.
Many believe Manchester United are in dire need of proper guidance and can only achieve that by hiring a proven, capable manager. Ralf Rangnick is currently serving as the club’s interim manager until the end of the season, leaving room for a permanent appointment in the summer.
With that in mind, we will check out five men who could give the club the direction they need next summer.
Here are the five favorites for Manchester United’s managerial position:
#5 Zinedine Zidane
One of the most desirable and decorated managers Zinedine Zidane is the least likely to take charge of Manchester United next season. However, given the unpredictable nature of the sport and the love the Red Devils have for the Frenchman, we couldn’t help but give him a shout.
Having earned his coaching license at Real Madrid, Zidane took charge of the first team in January 2016. Los Blancos were down in the dumps by then, heading towards their second consecutive trophyless season.
The former midfielder turned their fortunes around in a heartbeat. He led them to a second-place finish in La Liga and their 11th Champions League triumph at the end of the season.
The following season, Los Merengues won the league and defended their Champions League crown. In 2017-18, they completed their Champions League three-peat, beating Liverpool in the final in Kiev.
Zidane took a sabbatical at the end of the campaign but was compelled to return after Madrid’s 2018-19 campaign went up in flames.
Over the next couple of seasons, he led Real Madrid to another La Liga title and a Champions League semi-final berth. He resigned for the second time after the 2021-22 campaign wrapped up.
Zidane has a penchant for managing big egos and playing trophy-winning football. Bringing him to Old Trafford could turn out to be the coup of the decade on United’s part.
#4 Ernesto Valverde
Impressed with his spell at Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona hired Ernesto Valverde in 2017, hoping to take the fight to Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid. The coach got to work right away and turned Barcelona into the most defensively astute team in Spain.
The Blaugrana lost only one game in La Liga en route to the title in his debut season. He also won the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup in 2018.
Valverde led the Camp Nou outfit to yet another league title in the 2018-19 campaign, but missed out on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.
He was sacked a few months into the 2019-20 season following a Spanish Super Cup defeat. Surprisingly, Barcelona were leading the league title race when he was let go.
Manchester United reportedly held talks with Valverde after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was dismissed last year. The move couldn’t be finalized at the time, but an agreement could be reached next summer.
His pragmatic football is unlikely to win fans over at Old Trafford, but the Spaniard’s knack for winning league titles cannot be ignored.
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