Breaking News: Thomas Tuchel makes Man United stance clear after ‘secret’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe meeting

Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United is still up in the air, so last week Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Thomas Tuchel met in private in Monaco.

Thomas Tuchel has been linked with the Manchester United job (Image: Photo by Stefan Matzke – sampics/Corbis via Getty Images)

If Manchester United decides to fire Erik ten Hag, Thomas Tuchel does not intend to accept the position, according to reports on Sunday.

Should Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS decide to make a change this summer, the German has been linked to take Ten Hag’s place as United’s manager. United achieved their lowest-ever final standing in the Premier League since the division’s rebranding in 1992 when they finished ninth.

The Dutchman was expected to be fired regardless of the outcome against Manchester City last month, according to reports that surfaced prior to the FA Cup final. Ten Hag, though, seemed to have a better chance of staying when his United team surprised City by winning 2-1 at Wembley.

After winning the FA Cup two weeks ago, Ten Hag is still in control at Old Trafford. Although it’s still unknown if the former Ajax manager will be in the dugout for the opening game of the following season, several reports over the weekend suggest that Ratcliffe has already met “in secret” with Tuchel to make plans in the event that Ten Hag is fired.

Since then, though, rumours have surfaced indicating that Tuchel does not intend to take over as United’s manager because he would prefer to take a summer break from managing any team. The 50-year-old announced his resignation from Bayern after leading the team for 14 months, leaving after their season-ending match against Hoffenheim.

Following the alleged discussion with Ratcliffe, Tuchel has made the decision not to pursue further negotiations with United. The last time the former manager of Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain coached in the Premier League was at Chelsea, just before Todd Boehly fired him close to the beginning of the 2022–2023 season.

Ten Hag gave his thoughts about his future following the FA Cup final, although United has not yet announced a decision on him. “I’m in a project and we are exactly where we want to be,” he stated in an interview with reporters. We’re building a group. At United, things were in disarray when I took over.

“We are in the process of building a team for the future. We’ll ride out the highs and lows. What you observe is that the team is growing and succeeding; ultimately, winning trophies is what matters.”