Thomas Tuchel rules himself out of Man Utd job despite meeting with Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Thomas Tuchel has ruled himself out of the running to become Manchester United’s new head coach should the club choose to sack Erik ten Hag.

Instead the former Bayern Munich coach has decided to take some time off and is considering a year’s break from football.

Tuchel held detailed talks in Monaco with Sir Jim Ratcliffe last Tuesday with United hoping to make a decision by the end of this week as to whether they will finally replace Ten Hag.

It appears Tuchel was unlikely to be offered the job although this is disputed by sources close to the German.

Talks have also taken place either directly or with the representatives of Mauricio Pochettino, Roberto De Zerbi and Brentford head coach Thomas Frank. Telegraph Sport has been told that the appointment of Pochettino is also unlikely, however.

Another candidate was understood to be Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, a former first-team coach at United, but he has signed a new contract at the newly-promoted club.

Tuchel had called United ‘special’

United sources still insist there has been no final decision on Ten Hag’s future as the club conducts its promised review of football operations. They argue they will not be rushed.

Tuchel’s decision is, nevertheless, a surprise given that he had indicated that he not only wanted to make a return to the Premier League but that he regarded United as the ideal destination for him if that job were to become available.

Tuchel talked of how “special” Old Trafford was ahead of Bayern’s Champions League group game away to United last autumn. He has also been interested in the club and appreciates how big it is and its potential. It may well be, therefore, that United have withdrawn their interest.

A report in the German newspaper Bild claimed Tuchel had gone into detail with Ratcliffe on how he would get the best out of certain players and deal with Jadon Sancho who has been on loan at Borussia Dortmund after falling out with Ten Hag.

While transfer funds will be made available the priority at United is to improve the club’s infrastructure and get the best out of underperforming players. It is unlikely United will spend big this summer.

However it appears the difficult season at Bayern has taken its toll on the 50-year-old manager, who won the Champions League with Chelsea, and not least because the club made an 11th-hour decision to try and persuade him to stay.

That only came after they were snubbed by other candidates including Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann and Ralf Rangnick. It appears Tuchel has decided he needs a break after going through such a trying campaign and, if it is to be offered, United has therefore come around too soon for him despite holding talks.

It was announced on February 21 that Tuchel was leaving Bayern after a poor domestic season but he then led them to the Champions League semi-finals when they were unlucky to lose to the eventual winners, Real Madrid.

Ten Hag’s frustration at delay in deciding his future

The hiatus at United is not helping Ten Hag who went on holiday immediately after the FA Cup Final triumph over Manchester City two weeks ago and has still not been informed whether he will be in charge next season. He has one more year left on his contract.

Ratcliffe, the British billionaire, owns a 28 per cent stake in United but has full operational control of the football side of the business. Ten Hag’s fate rests in his hands with United welcoming new chief executive Omar Berrada next month to work with new technical director Jason Wilcox, who has arrived from Southampton, and Dan Ashworth who they hope will soon take over as sporting director.

Despite the reorganisation there is understandable frustration from Ten Hag’s side as to how long the process of deciding his future is taking – not least because he announced his part in it was complete before the season ends – as he has argued to remain in the post.

Ten Hag has stated that despite United finishing eighth in the Premier League he deserves the chance to work within the club’s new framework and has previously been hampered by how things were run.

This, and the length of time the review - although it could just be that United want their succession plan sorted - would suggest Ten Hag still has an unlikely chance of carrying on.