Ralf Rangnick wanted Manchester United to establish a superteam with six major signings, but the board refused to approve the high-profile transfers.
Rangnick was appointed temporary manager of Manchester United for the second half of the 2021/22 season following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s resignation.
Performances and results were initially positive under the German, until he supervised the Red Devils’ catastrophic 4-0 defeat to Liverpool.
In the aftermath of the crushing defeat, he claimed that Manchester United needed ‘open heart surgery’ in a harsh assessment.
The 66-year-old also compiled a list of transfer recommendations, which included a current Liverpool player.
He revealed the names of the players in a 2022 interview with German magazine BILD.
Rangnick advised that Manchester United recruit Luis Diaz, Erling Haaland, and Josko Gvardiol, all of whom went on to join Manchester City.
Not to mention Christopher Nkunku, who later signed with Chelsea.
Rangnick also recommended the forwards Alvaro Morata and Dusan Vlahovic.
“There was no such [transfer] dossier, and it was never wanted by the club,” according to Rangnick.
“That is why we were already talking about players like Josko Gvardiol and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig.” These were realistic names.
“We also talked about Alvaro Morata, Luis Diaz, Dusan Vlahovic and… Erling Haaland when they were still on the market.”
However, Manchester United ignored Rangnick’s counsel and chose to rebuild the team under the new coach.
“But the club decided at that time to rebuild the team under the new coach,” he told me.
As a result, the seasoned coach identified Diaz, Haaland, Gvardiol, and Nkunku as potential Premier League stars.
Diaz joined Liverpool in January 2022 and helped the club win the Premier League last season, while Haaland has had an outstanding season in England’s top flight since moving from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022.
Gvardiol has also enjoyed success, winning the league title in his first season at the Etihad.
Since joining Chelsea, Nkunku has struggled, scoring only six league goals in two seasons.
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