Bayern Munich have contacted the representatives of Erik ten Hag to express interest in him taking over from Thomas Tuchel, according to reports, but Zinedine Zidane will not become their new manager.
The Bavarian giants are looking to usher in a new era after losing their Bundesliga crown to first-time winners Bayer Leverkusen, and have already agreed to part ways with current boss Tuchel after an underwhelming season.
Bayern had initially wanted to hire Xabi Alonso, only for the Spaniard to spurn theirs and Liverpool’s advances, and they then saw Julian Nagelsmann – the manager they parted ways with in favour of appointing Tuchel – decide to ink a new contract with Germany rather than return to the Allianz Arena.
Attention was then turned down to former interim Manchester United and current Austria national team manager Ralf Rangnick, but he unexpectedly turned Bayern down in favour of continuing in his current role.
Reports in Germany subsequently revealed that Ten Hag had been added to Bayern’s list of potential candidates, and Sky Sports report that contact has indeed been made with the Dutchman’s agent, Kees Vos, to gauge his potential interest
Ten Hag is said to be aware of Bayern’s interest but that’s as far as things have gone at this stage.
The former Ajax manager’s priority remains getting Manchester United back on track, with plenty still to play for between now and the end of the season. Qualifying for the Champions League is now beyond the Red Devils, but they can still finish fifth in the Premier League if they string together some positive results and Tottenham Hotspur continue to drop points.
United can also win a trophy for the second season in a row when they take on neighbourhood rivals Manchester City in a repeat of last year’s FA Cup final. City emerged 2-1 victors at Wembley thanks to a brace from Ilkay Gundogan, but United were successful in beating Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final three months prior.
Zinedine Zidane is yet to return to management close to three years since he left Real Madrid, and he won’t be returning to the game with Bayern.
The legendary Frenchman, who has three Champions League successes and two La Liga titles on his CV, has been touted as a potential successor to Tuchel, but has always maintained that he wants to be able to fluently speak the language of whichever country he next manages in.
Zidane attended the Miami Grand Prix this past weekend and, having presented a trophy to Max Verstappen on the podium, was asked about whether or not he’ll be heading to Germany.
Shutting down the speculation, Zidane replied: “No, it will not happen. I’m going to watch the game, I will cheer for Real Madrid and hopefully Real Madrid will win. It will be a difficult game.”
The 51-year-old has been linked with Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team job in the past, but taking the latter job would appear to be off the cards after Didier Deschamps signed a contract extension running until the end of the 2026 World Cup.
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