Super agent reveals ‘genius’ manager snubbed Man Utd before Amorim was appointed
Thomas Tuchel passed on the opportunity to join Man Utd as manager with “everything prepared” for him to succeed Erik ten Hag, according to super agent Pini Zahavi.
The Red Devils were reportedly interested in Tuchel over the summer with INEOS speaking to other managers before extending Ten Hag’s contract for one year.
Speculation over Tuchel to Man Utd continued early on this season as the Red Devils started the season poorly under Ten Hag.
However, that all ended last month with the Football Association appointing former Chelsea boss Tuchel as new England head coach.
Man Utd have since sacked Ten Hag and appointed Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim with the Portuguese coach starting on November 11 after his final match in charge of the Lions over the weekend.
And now super agent Zahavi has revealed that Tuchel had the “opportunity” to join Man Utd and “everything was prepared” for the new England manager to arrive at Old Trafford as their new boss.
Zahavi said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag: “If I were Thomas, I would have gone to Manchester United. He had the opportunity. Everything was prepared, the deal was basically dry.
“Thomas has a spark of genius in him. But in today’s football you have to be wise and a diplomat. He’ll have to learn that.”
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Glen Johnson reckons Man Utd made a mistake by not making their move for Tuchel earlier with the ex-Liverpool defender “over the moon” at the German succeeding Gareth Southgate as England boss.
Johnson told Betfred: “I’m over the moon that he’s the manager of England. We have a fantastic squad and now we have a fantastic manager. The boys are going to love working for him and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get the best out of this squad.
“I do believe Manchester United have missed the boat by not appointing him sooner and I feel bad saying that when there’s a manager already in the job, but these top managers don’t come around often and the Manchester United job is a tricky one that requires a certain character that can turn that around.”
On the slow start under INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Johnson added: “I’m surprised by how slow things are going at Manchester United. It’s a fantastic club with fantastic players, but it’s a very strange job at the moment for a manager. If they sack Ten Hag, then what would they do?
“People will still want the job, but it’s a very difficult one to do. With that being said, I’m not surprised that Erik ten Hag is still there. I think they should stick with him, give him more time and see what happens with the team over the next few months. If things don’t turn around soon, then I doubt he will be there next season.”
