Ralf Rangnick’s destiny seems to be strangely linked with Stefano Pioli’s while the German tactician’s quotes on Zlatan Ibrahimovic could raise doubts about the future of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United.
Rangnick was supposed to replace Pioli at Milan after the 2019-20 campaign, but the Rossoneri’s brilliant results under the Italian tactician after the lockdown convinced the Serie A giants to trash the agreement they had reached with Rangnick, confirming Pioli at the helm.
Rangnick was so close to joining Milan that Zvonimir Boban resigned at the beginning of 2020 as he disapproved of Ivan Gazidis’ choice.
Quite incredibly, Pioli signed a contract extension with Milan today, while Rangnick has reached an agreement to take over at Manchester United on an interim basis.
Somehow, their destinies seem to be linked and many Milan fans are wondering what would have happened with the German tactician in charge of the Rossoneri.
Surely, they would not have enjoyed the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Simon Kjaer, who were not in Rangnick’s plans at San Siro.
“It’s not my style to insist on 38-year-old players, not because they are not good enough, and Ibra certainly is, but because I prefer to create value, develop talent,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport in August 2020.
“For me, it makes little sense to bet on Ibra or Kjaer, but it is my idea, neither right nor wrong.”
During the same interview, the 63-year-old also praised Atalanta‘s model.
“Young players learn more quickly, Milan have an example which is just 30 km away and that’s Atalanta,” he said.
“They have a third of Milan’s turnover, but they finish ahead in the standings. They make smart investments, they have one of the best youth sectors in Europe.”
The German coach doesn’t seem to be a fan of ‘experienced’ players, not to say old.
Back in 2016, he said that both Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were too old and CR7 was only 31 at that time. Now, he’ll become CR7’s coach in Manchester.
It’s fair to say that, given how the Rossoneri evolved with Ibra, it would have been a mistake to part ways with the Swede had Rangnick got the Milan job.