Listing the 5 renowned managers who rejected Chelsea
Premier League club Chelsea are based out of Fulham, West London. The club was founded in 1905, but only tasted major success in the 21st century. That notably happened after their takeover by Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich.
Abramovich brought in a desire for excellence and a hunger to win - something that was previously lacking at Stamford Bridge. Along with that, he brought in a massive budget for the club to invest in transfers, training facilities, youth academy at Cobham and scouting networks.
The revolution at Chelsea made it a popular destination for managers across Europe to come and test their mettle. Abramovich's unrelenting approach towards hiring and firing meant there were many top managers who came and went.
Chelsea first got major recognition with their back-to-back Premier League title wins under Jose Mourinho in 2004 and 2005. Interestingly, the club sacked him twice.
The Blues tasted their first European success under their former caretaker manager Roberto di Matteo in 2012, winning the UEFA Champions League. They followed that up by winning the UEFA Europa League in 2013 with Rafael Benitez. However, both Di Matteo and Benitez had short spells at the club, and were soon sacked due to inconsistent results.
In hindsight, the approach Abramovich adopted has brought forth success and trophies for Chelsea. The Blues won their second Champions League title earlier this year under manager Thomas Tuchel, who achieved glory in his first season in charge.
However, Chelsea's approach has also led to some dead ends in the recruitment process. On that note, here's a look at five managers who were not quite convinced by Abramovich's Chelsea project and rejected the club:
#5 Jurgen Klinsmann
Jurgen Klinsmann is a former player and manager. The former striker played for the likes of Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur. Klinsmann was also part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup, as well as the unified German team that won UEFA Euro 1996.
He has managed the German and American national teams, as well as Hertha Berlin and Bayern Munich. He was key in guiding Germany to a third-place finish at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Klinsmann also won the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup with the United States.
After his exploits at the World Cup in 2006, Klinsmann was offered a two-year deal by Bayern Munich, which he duly signed. However, the Bavarians weren't his only suitors.
Jurgen Klinsmann was approached by Chelsea to become their manager in 2007 following Mourinho's first sacking. The German reportedly declined the offer, explaining that he would prefer to wait for a vacancy to open up for the England manager's role.
Chelsea eventually decided to go with one of Abramovich's close friends, Israeli manager Avram Grant.
#4 Ralf Rangnick
Ralf Rangnick is a German football manager who began his managerial career in 1983. He first gained recognition with VFB Stuttgart, winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup with them in 2000.
Rangnick had brief spells with Hannover 96 and Schalke 04 after that, where he was dismissed on both occasions. He then rejoined Hannover, and won consecutive promotions, bringing the club back to the Bundesliga.
He then returned to Schalke in 2011, winning the DFB Pokal and reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Rangnick has since managed RB Leipzig in two spells between 2015 and 2019. He is currently the interim manager of Manchester United. However, the Red Devils' rivals, Chelsea, had approached him before that, which Rangnick declined.
The German revealed recently that he was approached by Chelsea towards the end of Frank Lampard's tenure at the beginning of 2021. However, he was put off by the duration of the offered contract - four months - and had no choice but to decline the offer. Rangnick explained:
“At the time, when Chelsea contacted me in February, they only spoke about the option to become interim manager for four months, without any perspective to work in the long-term together."
He went on to compare Chelsea's offer to what Manchester United have offered him, saying:
“Here now (at Manchester United), we are talking about six and a half months. We only have one third of all the games played in the Premier League. As you all know, we have also agreed upon a two-year advisory role after those six and a half months. In the end, to be honest, if a club like Manchester United contacts you for such a role, you cannot possibly turn them down.”
It remains to be seen whether Chelsea are left to regret the missed chance they had with Rangnick, depending on how he fares with United this season.
As of now, though, Thomas Tuchel's Blues look set to contend for top silverware this season as well. Chelsea are miles ahead of Ralf Rangnick's Manchester United in the Premier League table.
#3 Julian Nagelsmann
Julian Nagelsmann, another Chelsea target, has slowly but surely established himself as one of Europe's most exciting and talented young managers. Recently, clubs with long-term plans have shown signs of leaning towards younger managers.
This is done with one eye on the future and the hope the manager will build a team over the years. Nagelsmann fits the mould perfectly. However, this could have been the reason the German felt Chelsea would have been a mismatch for him, considering their dealings with managers.
Nagelsmann rose to prominence during stints with 1899 Hoffenheim (2016-2019) and RB Leipzig (2019-21). His results with both clubs saw him grow in popularity among Europe's elite clubs. Hoffenheim enjoyed a record-breaking 2016-17 campaign under him.
Bayern were quick to snap him up in 2021, tying him down to a five-year deal. However, Nagelsmann was approached by Chelsea during the 2020-21 season when they contemplated relieving Frank Lampard from his duties. The German, however, declined the role as he did not wish to leave his club in the middle of the season.
Chelsea went on to sign fellow German Thomas Tuchel, and the rest, as they say, is history.
#2 Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola took the world by storm with his impressive style of setting up his teams and the way they controlled the ball. His Barcelona side of 2009 won a record six trophies in a calendar year. That included a stunning treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.
Guardiola has since won 31 trophies as manager of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and currently Manchester City, establishing his pedigree across multiple top-five leagues.
Pep Guardiola was approached a mind-boggling six times by Roman Abramovich to take over as Chelsea manager.
The first instance was in 2010 when Carlo Ancelotti was struggling as manager. The second approach came a few months later after the Italian was eventually sacked. A third approach was made by Chelsea towards the end of Andre Villas-Boas' short stint, before they chose Roberto di Matteo as their caretaker manager.
The fourth instance came during Guardiola's sabbatical from the game following his tenure at Barcelona after the 2011-12 season. Chelsea hoped that a Champions League-winning side would tempt Guardiola, but to no avail.
The Spaniard's lines were busy yet again, for a fifth time, towards the end of the season. That was when Di Matteo's struggles meant Chelsea were on the lookout for a new manager again. The final attempt came after Jose Mourinho was sacked for the second time in 2015.
Pep Guardiola cited Chelsea's 'hiring and firing culture' as the reason for him declining all their advances. The Spaniard is known to be strongly against short-terms in football.
#1 Sir Alex Ferguson
In one of the most ambitious manoeuvres in the history of football, Roman Abramovich and Chelsea approached Sir Alex Ferguson in 2003. It was shortly after the club had been sold to the Russian billionaire that the legendary Scot was approached.
It was shocking and disrespectful, as Abramovic hoped to buy out Ferguson's loyalty to United with a pay cheque. Chelsea had reportedly sent an agent acting on behalf of the owner to Ferguson, offering him the managerial role.
Ferguson's reply was short and swift, something one would expect from the Scotsman. In his typical Scottish accent, Fergie said:
"Nae chance."
To put things into perspective, Ferguson had already won more silverware with United in his tenure until 2003, than Chelsea had in their entire history till that point. Even to this day, his record is better than that of Chelsea Football Club.
The Blues went on to sign Mourinho in 2004, who forged a remarkable rivalry with Ferguson. That gave fans a wonderful few years of epic battles between Chelsea and Manchester United.
However, credit must be given to Roman Abramovich for making his winning intent clear as soon as he set foot on English soil.
Quick Links
Bhargav