Rudi Garcia has revealed that Manchester United rejected him after two interviews in 2021, yet he remains keen to work in English football. The French coach progressed through two rounds of talks following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal, but the club instead appointed Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis before hiring Erik ten Hag the following summer.
Garcia's near miss with United
Speaking to The Athletic, Garcia said: "Yes, I interviewed twice to work in this fantastic club, one of the best clubs in the world. I'd like to work in England and I met Darren Fletcher (then technical director) and John Murtough (then football director)."
He added: "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."
At the time, Garcia's reputation was strong after guiding Lyon to the 2019/20 Champions League semi-finals, where they knocked out Manchester City. However, Lyon declined the following campaign and he departed after finishing fourth.
Career after United
The 62-year-old later took charge at Al Nassr, where he handed Cristiano Ronaldo his Saudi Pro League debut, before spells with Napoli and the Belgium national side. He said of the pressure at big clubs: "Manchester United is a huge club but I'd coached at big clubs where the fans made amazing atmospheres: Roma, Marseille, Lyon, Napoli. That brings pressure and can be complicated but it's also wonderful when you win."
Garcia also reflected on his short Napoli tenure: "I was only there four months before I was sacked by the president, not because of results but because I wanted to make the decisions a coach should make - I enjoyed it."
Looking forward
Garcia had previously discussed the interview process with Le Figaro in 2022, noting the importance of speaking the language of the country where you work. He recalled: "In Manchester, the interviews went pretty well. I saw John Murtough and Darren Fletcher, I told them I had to work on my English and Darren, who is Scottish, had a cool joke telling me that I did not yet have the level with the Scottish accent to answer, but that it was very good."
The revelation comes as Mauricio Pochettino is set to arrive as Michael Carrick's successor at Old Trafford next week. Carrick was dismissed on Thursday after a poor start to the Premier League left United in 18th place. Pochettino will leave the United States national team to return to Premier League management, having previously coached Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton.
