Erik ten Hag’s decision not to hold a face-to-face meeting with his predecessor Ralf Rangnick and the German’s subsequent exit from the club has laid bare the farce at Old Trafford.
Rangnick was appointed as United’s interim coach in December on a deal until the end of the season but it had been agreed that he would continue at the club in a consultancy role for two years. However, that plan was scrapped after the club confirmed his exit last month.
The premise for which the German coach was brought to Old Trafford was not primarily focused on his coaching ability for the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, but of helping the club transition to a new project by offering guidance on his successor and future transfer planning.
However, the developments that took place at the end of the campaign have highlighted that this was not the case. Ten Hag granted Rangnick only a phone call to discuss club matters after the German’s spell as interim coach concluded at the end of the season and had no interest in keeping the 63-year-old at the club in any capacity.
It is increasingly clear that Rangnick did not join United with the understanding of playing the role that he did; a temporary coach who would not be actively involved in any long-term capacity. Speaking in an interview with The Times last year, he outlined how he rejected the opportunity to replace Frank Lampard at Chelsea in January 2021 due to the short-term nature of the role.
Rangnick said at the time: "I said 'I would like to come and work with you, but I can't do it for four months. I'm not an interim coach. To the media and players you would be the 'four-month manager', a lame duck, from day one."
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Yet that is precisely what the German was at Old Trafford, a temporary manager who held no pivotal say in the appointment of either a long-term manager or in the club's transfer policy – not allowed to sanction any signings in the January transfer window nor line-up any deals in summer, with his vague consultancy position entirely removed.
The United statement at the end of May confirmed the departure of Rangnick, who will now manage Austria: "We would like to thank Ralf Rangnick for his efforts as interim manager over the past six months. By mutual agreement, Ralf will now focus solely on his new role as manager of the Austria national team and will not therefore be taking up a consultancy role at Old Trafford. We would like to wish Ralf the best of luck in this next chapter of his career."
Rangnick's spell as United boss was disastrous, with the club finishing in a distant sixth-placed position in the Premier League – 11 points off fifth place and losing all of their final six away matches in the division.
