Rudi Garcia has revealed that he was interviewed twice for the interim manager position at Manchester United. The disclosure comes after the club announced on Friday that Mauricio Pochettino had been appointed as their new head coach, replacing Michael Carrick, who was sacked on Thursday.
Background to the appointment
United had gone 11 games with just one win in all competitions. Carrick had survived two heavy defeats by Como and Bournemouth, but a loss and a draw against Chelsea and Aston Villa proved decisive, despite a dramatic comeback victory over Roma coming between those matches.
Pochettino was selected ahead of other reported candidates on United's shortlist, including Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Fabian Hurzeler, all of whom were thought to have admirers at Old Trafford.
Garcia's account of the interviews
Speaking to The Athletic, Garcia, who is the head coach of Belgium, described his experience of being interviewed for the top job at United. "Yes, I interviewed twice to work in this fantastic club, one of the best clubs in the world," he explained.
"I'd like to work in England and I met Darren Fletcher and John Murtough. It was an interim role and they asked me what I would do once it was over. I told them I would do so well that I would be staying in Manchester, but they gave the job to Ralf [Rangnick]."
Previous caretaker race
Garcia made it to the final two candidates for the caretaker manager position following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's departure in November 2021. He ultimately lost out to the German Ralf Rangnick, who agreed a deal to move into a consulting role after his caretakership at Old Trafford.
That consulting role did not materialise, with the former RB Leipzig and Hoffenheim manager leaving the club to take charge of the Austrian national side.
