La Liga champions Barcelona are reportedly interested in former Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick, whom Joan Laporta admires.
According to a report by Spanish outlet SPORT, Ralf Rangnick is the subject of interest from Barcelona. The Catalan club’s president, Joan Laporta, is an admirer of the 65-year-old. However, the report does not reveal whether the former Manchester United manager is a top target for the Blaugrana.
Ralf Rangnick is one of the brightest minds in football. A defensive midfielder during his career as a footballer, he never rose in prominence during his playing days and retired in the 1980s. Since then, he has been in and out of the managerial world while making his name as a transfer specialist.
The 65-year-old has managed several well-known clubs, including VfB Stuttgart, Schalke 04, RB Leipzig, and Manchester United. Rangnick served Manchester United as the interim head coach after they parted ways with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021. But his spell was riddled with frustrations.
The German tactician was going to take up a backroom role at Manchester United, helping the club on the transfer front. But his spell with Manchester United ended abruptly in 2022 after Erik ten Hag arrived as the club’s next manager. Since then, Ralf Rangnick has been managing Austria as the national team’s head coach. He has now emerged as a target for Barcelona.
The reigning La Liga champions are in the market for a manager, with Xavi Hernandez leaving the club at the end of the 2023/24 season. Since then, several candidates, including Xabi Alonso, have emerged on Barcelona’s radar. Rangnick is the latest name on the wishlist.
The report has claimed that Joan Laporta is an admirer of Rangnick’s abilities. But appointing the 65-year-old as Xavi Hernandez’s replacement might be a mistake, with the German tactician being a better transfer guru than a head coach and a manager.
Nonetheless, other candidates might be top targets for Barcelona, with the Blaugrana working on the deal to appoint Hansi Flick as the next manager. But it will be interesting to see if Ralf Rangnick rises in the pecking order in the coming weeks and months.
