Rio Ferdinand has stated that he believes Xavi or Thomas Frank will be used by Manchester United to replace Erik ten Hag.
The turbulent career at Old Trafford came to an end on Monday when the Red Devils manager was fired. Pressure mounted on the coach following a dismal start to the 2024–25 season, and the team has now made the decision to retire.
His firing has sparked conjecture about Ten Hag’s successor at United. There are some people that could actually fill the position. Now that the former Ajax manager has been fired, Ruud van Nistelrooy will take over temporarily. Although Ferdinand stated on his YouTube channel that he would offer the position to his former teammate, he acknowledged that he could imagine United choosing one of two other candidates.
Van Nistelrooy would be given a full-time position by Ferdinand.
However, he saw that the club was pursuing either Frank or Xavi.
Former United defender Ferdinand hopped onto his YouTube account and started filming a live video in response to the news of Ten Hag’s firing almost immediately after it was announced. Around 11:20, after first expressing his personal thoughts on the choice, he was asked who he would choose to succeed the leaving manager.
Given that he already knows the players and that the appointment won’t cause any significant disruption at Old Trafford, the Englishman stated that he would want to see Van Nistelrooy given the position permanently. He stated:
“I would most likely give it to Ruud at this moment. The hot seat is on him. He has visited the location, and as I mentioned, there won’t be a significant disruption in terms of getting to know the players. He is currently familiar with them all.
However, he continued by acknowledging that he could imagine United choosing to go with either current Brentford manager Frank or former Barcelona player Xavi. When Ferdinand spoke about Xavi specifically, he brought up the Spaniard’s league achievements, his appealing style of play at Barcelona, and his commitment to nurturing young players at Camp Nou. The renowned centre-back went on to say:
“But if we could find someone like him, Xavi. playing football with the same aggression that Barcelona did. When he was at Barcelona, he brought in young players and won the league. Lamine Yamal was brought by him. That is also the essence of Man United’s DNA.
Frank is currently flying with Brentford, and Van Nistelrooy is now Old Trafford’s acting head coach. After leaving Barcelona at the end of the 2023–2024 season, Xavi is currently without a job. What Ferdinand wants is obvious, but only time will tell which way United goes.
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