Cristiano Ronaldo could soon get his way and see Luis Enrique become Manchester United manager - albeit five months later than the 37-year-old wanted him to be appointed.
It is widely believed that in the wake of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal back in November of last year, Ronaldo had identified Enrique as the coach he wanted to replace the sacked Norwegian. Instead, those at the top of the Old Trafford hierarchy opted to bring in Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis until the end of the current campaign.
It was a decision that hasn't entirely worked out, with the German overseeing eliminations from both the FA Cup and the Champions League within just over a month of each other. Rangnick is now expected to transition into a two-year consultancy role within the United boardroom, though it is unclear whether he'll have any say in who succeeds him as boss.
Ronaldo's desire for Enrique to take over as manager was strong, with the 37-year-old rumoured to have favoured the Spaniard over another A-list manager he had already worked under in Zinedine Zidane - also linked with the role.
Both Ronaldo and Enrique faced off a number of times during their shared period in La Liga, with the most notable clashes coming while the 51-year-old was at the helm of FC Barcelona up against Ronaldo's Real Madrid. Recent reports suggest the pair could soon finally work alongside each other.
Those close to the club are alleged to have claimed Enrique is viewed as a popular choice among United officials due to both his incredible honours list and the fact it would not cost as much to pry him away from his current post in comparison to other candidates.
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Enrique is the boss of the Spain national team and while he would cost less than someone like Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino, the fact the World Cup looms large on the horizon may present an obstacle in their efforts to appoint the La Roja chief.
According to the Daily Mail, Enrique should not be ruled out of the running just yet despite Ajax boss Erik ten Hag being seen as the favourite for the role after the Dutchman was interviewed by United officials early last week.
Ten Hag's main selling point is his desire to rebuild the club via a complete upheaval in terms of playing style, rather than requiring significant funds to be granted by those above him to bring in more star-studded players on big wages.
