An explosive article from a major Spanish outlet claims that the Manchester United board regret hiring interim manager Ralf Rangnick and are considering terminating his contract at the end of the season.
Rangnick was appointed on the basis of being acting manager for the remainder of 2021/22 and then moving to a two-year consultancy role at the club.
But AS reports that United are contemplating breaking the agreement.
‘Manchester United consider that they have made a mistake by signing the German,’ the outlet states.
‘After being eliminated from the Champions League, against Atlético, United’s leaders think that they have made a mistake by putting the team in Rangnick’s hands.
‘In principle, he was going to occupy a position in the club’s sports management, but at the moment the Red Devils’ board is considering firing him despite having a valid contract.’
‘Rangnick arrived on the Old Trafford bench at the end of November to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but he has not improved the team’s performance.
‘To make matters worse, the German coach has not been able to empathize with Cristiano Ronaldo, whom he even criticized for his efficiency.
‘Those words caused total fracture between the two.’
If the report is true, it would seem a little harsh for the board to have concluded at such an early stage that Rangnick has not improved the team’s performance.
In recent games, including Tuesday’s Champions League loss to Atleti, United’s biggest problems have been their finishing and individual errors in defence.
The manager has little control over either of those two factors.
In addition, the expression ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ is apt in this case and it certainly takes more time to repair such a broken team as the one Rangnick inherited.