Why did Ralf Rangnick leave Manchester United? Austria manager bids for Euro 2024 success after Old Trafford disaster

Ralf Rangnick has rebuilt his reputation as Austria manager following the fallout from his disastrous tenure at Manchester United.

The 65-year-old will lead his first ever team in an international tournament after Unsere Burschen qualified for Euro 2024.

Rangnick inherited an Austrian team that had missed the World Cup in Qatar before quickly turning their fortunes around.

Austria have lost just once in their last 10 matches and even recorded an impressive 2-0 victory against Euro 2024 hosts Germany in November.

It represents a remarkable turnaround under his leadership following his difficult spell as interim manager of Man United during the second half of the 2021/22 season.

Why did Rangnick leave Man United?

Rangnick announced his exit from Old Trafford with immediate effect in May 2022 to focus on his role as manager of the Austrian side.

He became United’s surprise choice to temporarily succeed former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in December 2021.

Rangnick was head of sports and development at Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow when he took up the role in England.

The German, who has also served as sporting director at RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg, was previously targeted for a similar role at the Red Devils in 2019.

However, his return to the dugout sparked intrigue, having been credited with developing the famous Gegenpressing tactic which influenced Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel.

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Rangnick was unable to turn around United’s faltering season, insisting the club needed “open heart surgery”.

United won just 38 percent of their matches under his management, the worst winning percentage of any United manager in the Premier League era.

He then found himself the target of Cristiano Ronaldo’s ire, with the Portuguese icon claiming he didn’t understand Rangnick’s appointment and had never even heard of him.

Rangnick was to take on a two-year consultancy role – which was agreed upon his arrival – following the arrival of Erik ten Hag from Ajax.

It was going to require six days of work per month for the Red Devils, but Rangnick announced that he would have to concentrate fully on Austria instead.

A statement released by United read: “We would like to thank Ralf Rangnick for his efforts as interim manager over the past six months.

“By mutual agreement, Ralf will now focus solely on his new role as manager of the Austrian national team and will therefore not take on a consulting role at Old Trafford.

“We wish Ralf the best of luck in this next chapter of his career.”