6 Things Ralf Rangnick Was Right About at Manchester United

Ralf Rangnick’s time in charge of Manchester United is not fondly remembered by many, although he did endear himself to supporters by calling out the problems at the club in public.

Rangnick replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in December 2021, becoming United’s interim manager for the remainder of the 2021-22 season, but presided over a difficult few months at Old Trafford and plans for him to stay on in an advisory role were scrapped that summer. Amid United’s problems under Erik ten Hag, and their inability to transition into a new era under Ruben Amorim this season, Rangnick’s evaluation of the state of the club has taken on higher significance.

The 66-year-old, nicknamed the ‘Godfather of the Gegenpress’, surprisingly rejected the opportunity to replace Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich in order to continue his work with the Austrian national team but revitalised his reputation over the summer by guiding the European nation to the Euro 2024 knockout rounds – finishing top of a group containing tournament favourites France, Netherlands and Poland, before being eliminated by Turkey in the round of 16.

Was he treated unfairly during his time at Man Utd? We’ve taken a look at some of the things he was right about during his ill-fated stint at Old Trafford.

Rangnick knew quick fixes wouldn’t be enough

Probably the most memorable soundbite from Rangnick’s brief spell at United was his likening of the club’s problems to a person with a serious health condition. He said:

United’s open-heart surgery is now underway, and fans hope that the new structure under Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS will bring about the changes Rangnick had in mind have dissipated. In their first 10 months of trying to address the issues left by the Glazers’ reign, United spent millions extending Erik ten Hag’s contract, only to dismiss him three months into the season.

They made similar moves with sporting director Dan Ashworth, increased ticket prices, angered supporters with widespread layoffs, parted ways with club ambassador Sir Alex Ferguson, and yet, there has been no tangible success on the field as they languish in the lower portion of mid-table.

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Tipping Garnacho For the Top

Youngster made bench for first time under Rangnick

Alejandro Garnacho’s emergence was a huge positive for United during Ten Hag’s time at the club. The Argentine broke into the team last season and was a mainstay last term, appearing 50 times in all competitions – only goalkeeper Andre Onana made more appearances with 51.

Rangnick named Garnacho among United’s substitutes for a Premier League match with Norwich in April 2022 and tipped him for a bright future when explaining his decision.

“[Garnacho] has been training with us [the first team] for the last two weeks and I know that he is one of the most promising players,” Rangnick told MUTV. “[He is] still only 17, but a player that hopefully if he keeps his feet on the ground, if he keeps trying to get better every day, then he will not only be sitting on the bench but there is every chance he will be playing for this club.”

For all his talent, though, the young Argentine winger was not able to find a place in the team under Amorim, who took issue with his attitude. As such, Garnacho is now hoping to prove himself as one of the best young wingers in the world at rivals Chelsea.

Swede has outperformed United’s forwards this term

Little attention was paid when Anthony Elanga left United in the summer of 2023 to join Nottingham Forest, but he has shown just why he was rated so highly by Rangnick, scoring 11 times and registering 21 assists for his new club before then sealing a £55m move to Newcastle United in 2025.

His direct goal contributions since the start of last season far outshine the likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Antony’s stats. Elanga had wanted to leave United on loan due to a lack of game time when Rangnick arrived in December 2021 but quickly won his new manager over.

“In the first training session he was the player with the best training performance in that session so I asked my colleagues and my staff about him and found out that he had almost already decided to leave the club on loan,” Rangnick recalled in 2022. “The week after that I told him ‘listen, I want you to stay, I want to see how you do in training and in the games until the closure of the transfer window.'”

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Players He Suggested to United

Haaland, Gvardiol, Enzo all recommended

Rangnick suggested a whole host of players for United to sign during his time at the club, including Enzo Fernandez, Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol and Julian Alvarez. The Austrian was keen to reinforce the squad in the January 2021 transfer window but was not backed by United’s owners, who did not want to finance a rebuild under an interim manager.

“It was clear to everyone that there was a need in many areas,” Rangnick told Bild. “That’s why we were already discussing players like Josko Gvardiol and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig. Those were names that were realistic. We also talked about Alvaro Morata, Luis Diaz, Dusan Vlahovic and, as I said, Erling Haaland when they were still on the market. But the club decided at that time to rebuild the team under the new coach.”

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Calling Out the Glazers

‘After two weeks it was clear where the problems were’

Gary Neville said that United got rid of Rangnick because he ‘scared them to death’. As well as his open-heart surgery comment, Rangnick also appeared to question whether the desire to make the appropriate changes in order to succeed was actually there from the Glazers in the first place. Rangnick was clearly of the opinion that United’s football structure needed modernising but said he wasn’t given the chance to implement change.

Speaking after taking the Austria manager’s job in 2022, he said: “After just two weeks it was clear to me where the problems were and what would have to be done to fix them – but the question is whether you have the option of changing these things.”

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Agreeing to Stay on in a Consultancy Role

Ten Hag prompted United to scrap plans after arriving

As part of United’s agreement to bring Rangnick to the club, it was also decided that he would stay on in a consultancy role up until the summer of 2024. Rangnick arrived at United with a brilliant reputation as a director of football, having played integral roles in that position for both Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig, and United’s plan to keep him at the club so that he could work with the next permanent manager appeared to be a great plan – and a plan so sensible that it surprised fans who had become so accustomed to seeing their club make the wrong decisions.

United, however, reverted to type and scrapped that plan on Ten Hag’s say-so as the Dutchman did not want to work alongside Rangnick. It’s clear now more than ever that United would have benefited from him staying, with neither of the duo being at the club anymore.