Manchester United has had a thing about changing managers over the last decade. Since Sir Alex Ferguson, its most successful manager left, the club has kept looking for a suitable replacement only to be shown the door to the next manager.
In 11 years, the club has had eight managers, including two caretaker managers Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick. Under current manager Erik Ten Hag, the Red Devils have won the Carabao Cup but have remained trophyless this season.
And with Sir Jim Ratcliffe coming in as a co-owner, the drought of a Premier League title has seen the trust in the Dutchman dwindle in the last few weeks.
Sportstar thus looks at the potential replacements – among high-profile non-contracted managers – of Ten Hag if United lets him go.
Zinedine Zidane
The 1998 FIFA World Cup winner is considered to be one of the front-runners for the job after Italian outlet FootMercato reported that Jean-Claude Blanc, the current Chief Executive of INEOS – the firm owned by Ratcliffe – is a fan of the Frenchman and considers the appointment a dream move.
Zinedine Zidane celebrates winning the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid in 2017, beating Juventus 4-1. | Photo Credit: AP
Zidane set some exceptional records as manager of Real Madrid, winning a hat-trick of UEFA Champions League titles and remains one of the most successful coaches at the club, winning 11 major trophies with Los Blancos.
He has been out of management since May 2021 and declined an offer from the United States to coach it for the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Xavi Hernandez
From one FIFA World Cup winner to the other, Xavi honed his managerial skills in Qatar – he won seven major titles with Al Sadd – before moving to his boyhood club Barcelona.
Under Xavi, Blaugrana won the La Liga after four years and the Spanish Super Cup, but this season, he said that he would be stepping down from the position. A master tactician on and off the field, the Spaniard is also credited for giving youngsters like Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez their senior team debut.
With United having a legacy with its academy, Xavi might fit the bill for the new owners.
Jose Mourinho
The Special One still remains as a Midas for silverware at clubs. He won trophies at every club he managed except a brief stint at Tottenham Hotspur.
His recent job was at AS Roma, which won the UEFA Conference League under him in 2022, its first trophy in 14 years and the first European title in half a century.
Mourinho lifts the Carabao Cup trophy as Manchester United manager after beating Southampton at the Wembley Stadium. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Mourinho has had a previous stint at Man United, where he won the UEFA Europa League and the Carabao Cup in 2017 and, given his history of returning to his former club in England – Chelsea – he would be one of the people to replace the Dutchman.
Thomas Tuchel
The UEFA Champions League-winning manager with Chelsea had an unceremonious exit from England but has found it an uphill battle to maintain consistency with Bayern Munich in his home country.
Tuchel won the Bundesliga with Bayern after a last-day drama last year but the brilliance of Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen has seen Bayern struggling to keep up in this season.
But the German has an extremely enticing resume, taking two different teams – Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea – to the Champions League finals in consecutive years. He won three major titles – the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup – with the Blues before falling out with the new owners of Chelsea.
Antonio Conte
The Italian wizard helped Chelsea reclaim the title in 2017 and has plenty of experience in managing English teams, having coached Tottenham in his last stint in the Premier League.
Antonio Conte, manager of Chelsea kisses the Premier League Trophy winning the league, on May 21, 2017. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Known for his counter-attacking press using the 3-5-2 formation, Conte won five titles with Juventus and the Serie A also with Inter Milan.
However, given his history of falling out with owners of his former clubs, which happened at Chelsea and Spurs, he might remain a bit behind the other contenders for the post, despite having a commendable managerial record.
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