Barcelona chief 'considering' former Man Utd boss amid upcoming Xavi exit

A former Manchester United interim boss has been linked with a surprise job. Ralf Rangnick put together a rather miserable interim spell in charge with the Red Devils, going down rather badly with the United first-team during his spell at Old Trafford, between 2021 and 2022.

The German was brought in as interim boss with the view to moving him upstairs once a new permanent boss had been found, but he made enough enemies during his time in the interim role that he would leave the club, taking up an offer to assume control of the Austria national team.

On reflection, some of Rangnick's hard truths about United were probably more accurate than people wanted to admit at the time, but that part will remain up for debate. What we do know is that the Austria boss is now being linked with a surprise return to club management.

According to Sport, Barcelona chief Joan Laporta is keen on the idea of hiring Rangnick as the club's next head coach. Barca are on the lookout for a new boss after Xavi Hernandez announced over recent weeks that he will walk away at the end of the current campaign.

It has been a disappointing campaign for the Catalan giants, who are 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid, and Xavi evidently feels as though he has done all he can up to this point, at least within the confines of Barca's still overstretched budget.

Rangnick's role working with young players at RB Leipzig and the success he achieved with the German club are said to be the attractive points of the potential hire, but the move will still surprise United fans, especially given the struggles the 65-year-old had at Old Trafford. Then again, Hansi Flick and Rafael Marquez do remain the favourites for the Barca job at this stage.