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Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly blocked Antonio Conte's appointment at the club after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in November. The Red Devils consulted their senior players while looking for a new man to lead the club. Conte, then a free agent, was supposedly among their considerations.
However, according to Daily Mirror, their Portuguese maestro vetoed a move for him. The club eventually brought Ralf Rangnick on board as interim manager, with Conte later joining Tottenham Hotspur.
It's a decision the Old Trafford outfit might have regretted, as the Italian guided Spurs back into the Champions League with a fourth-place finish while United finished in sixth place. Rangnick won only 11 of his 29 games in charge, the lowest win percentage of any manager at the club since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure in 2013.
Their campaign got progressively worse under the German. United suffered a handful of humiliating defeats in the league and also went out early in the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
Manchester United, in fact, finished with their lowest-ever points tally in the Premier League era, garnering just 58 points. They also conceded their highest number of goals in a single edition of the competition with 57.
Conte, meanwhile, inherited a Spurs outfit languishing in ninth place and took them up to fourth. His team pipped north London rivals Arsenal on the penultimate gameweek to return to the UEFA Champions League after three years.
The Red Devils have appointed Erik ten Hag as their next permanent and have already started working for next season. The Dutchman, though, has a massive rebuilding task on his hands.
Rangnick, meanwhile, is set to take over a consultant position at the club while also being appointed the coach of the Austrian national team.
Winds of change to blow over Manchester United this summer
Manchester United have put their miserable 2021-22 campaign behind them and have already started working for next season. Ten Hag has already taken over the reins, and some huge transfer decisions are expected over the next few weeks.
Many players are set to depart and some new signings are on the cards as the club aims for a major squad revamp to be able to contend for trophies again.
There are great expectations from Ten Hag after his accomplishments during five trophy-laden years at Ajax. It will be interesting to see how the United project goes about in the 2022-23 season.
