Why Man Utd did not hire Luis Enrique despite Cristiano Ronaldo demand

Luis Enrique has become the most wanted coach of European football thanks to the season of Paris Saint Germain so far, but he could easily have ended up in Manchester United instead of Erik ten Hag

Cristiano Ronaldo told Manchester United to hire Luis Enrique as head coach – only for the timing to be too difficult because Old Trafford Chiefs named Erik ten Hag to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Enrique was dedicated to managing Spain on the World Cup 2022 and felt the need to fulfill his contract after he had been shown loyalty by the football club of the country when he took compassionate leave after the death of his daughter.

And while La Roja bowed in the round of 16 in Qatar, Enrique's references as one of the world's top coaches has been stimulated since then thanks to the Drive of Paris Saint-Germain to a first elusive Champions League.

Enrique, also a former Barcelona boss, supervised the 1-0 first leg profit of PSG in the semi-final road to Arsenal on Tuesday evening, but according to reports it could have easily been different if United could bring him to the northwest three years ago.

Yet they are not the only Premier League side that considered to hire him with various reports from the past and said that Chelsea rejected him on two separate occasions, Arsenal decided not to take him to the emirates, while Tottenham came in before he withdrew.

A report in the Times in 2018 said that Enrique was considered by Arsenal as “an inappropriate fit for the position” to replace Arsene Wenger. At the time, he had no work after leaving Barca, but had “Salary requirements that exceed (Wenger)” and a “self-digitized approach to management (who) would not match the restructuring strategy of the London Club.”

He was also spoken as a candidate at Stamford Bridge when Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel left, while countless left were drawn between him and traces before Ange Postecoglou arrived from Celtic.

Sorry? Some have had a few since Enrique now seems to be the most desired coach in Europe who has led PSG through the Post-Kylian Mbappe era with a team full of exciting, young players.

They have already completed the Ligue 1 title with weeks to save and are now one match from reaching a second final. They lost on the previous occasion, the rear doors final against Bayern Munich in 2020.

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