Man Utd news: Mauricio Pochettino’s comments on joining Real Madrid present complication | Football | Sport

The former Tottenham boss has been widely linked with the permanent United job as the Premier League side seek Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s replacement.  

Interim boss Ralf Rangnick is unlikely to be given the role on a full-time basis having overseen some inconsistent form over the last three months.  

Rangnick is expected to move into a consultancy position at the end of the season, paving the way for a new head coach to be hired.  

Pochettino has been suggested as a possible contender, alongside Ajax’s Erik ten Hag. 

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But the 49-year-old has previously expressed his desire to manage Real Madrid. Pochettino might get his wish with Real Madrid said to be considering firing Carlo Ancelotti in the summer, something that would deal a big blow to United’s hopes of landing him.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever coach Madrid, but of course it’s my dream,” Pochettino told Marca in 2020. 

“If it’s not the best it’s one of the best clubs in the world. I’m no different, everyone has it on their dream list.” 

Pochettino’s PSG side were brilliant in their 1-0 win over Real. Kylian Mbappe’s excellent solo goal won the game for the Parisians in added time and handed them an advantage going into the second leg at the Bernabeu. 

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Rangnick, though, poured cold water on rumours linking Pochettino to United.  

“I have no idea,” the German said a fortnight ago.  

“My full focus is on training the group right now, we have games coming up in three different competitions, I couldn’t give any reasonable answer to that question. 

“My focus is on the next couple of games, weeks and months, to be as successful as we can be.”