Carlo Ancelotti to Man Utd? Red Devils told why ex-Chelsea, Bayern Munich & Real Madrid boss would be ideal candidate to bring ‘winning culture’ back after Ruben Amorim sacking

United have not really had that since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. The likes of Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Erik ten Hag have all overseen trophy triumphs, but a 14th Premier League crown has remained elusive.

The Red Devils slipped to 15th in the English top-flight last season, which represents their lowest ebb in the modern era, while a 111-year low has been hit this term after failing to secure European qualification and tumbling out of both domestic cup competitions at the earliest opportunity.

Amorim paid the price for inconsistency, and failing to change his ways when it came to a questionable tactical blueprint, while Darren Fletcher was unable to deliver an upturn in fortune during a two-game stint as caretaker coach. Reins have now been passed to Michael Carrick on an interim basis.

United will make a permanent appointment in the summer, with the Red Devils already being linked with the likes of Oliver Glasner, Thomas Tuchel, Gareth Southgate and Luis Enrique. Rene Meulensteen, who once worked alongside Ferguson at Old Trafford, believes an ex-Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan boss should be on the Red Devils’ radar.

He has told Casinostugan: "Carlo Ancelotti is the guy with the type of pedigree who can handle it because he’s done it, he’s seen it and he knows what a winning culture looks like. I don’t think Ancelotti would listen to anybody else. Ancelotti would say this is what I’m doing. I’m managing what I’m here to do.

“Football has changed. You’ve got Directors of Football now or Sporting Directors and Technical Directors who are there to safeguard the big picture of the whole football operation at a club and then you’ve got a Head Coach who should be working with the squad of players.

“As a coach, you need to be very clear on that. That’s why Ruben Amorim ran into trouble. They obviously weren’t aligned. He had different ideas about how it should be run than the people in the background.”

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While tipping Ancelotti to fill Amorim’s shoes in Manchester, Meulensteen is not convinced that the Premier League will see United’s former boss again any time soon. He added on what the future holds for 40-year-old Amorim: “It depends what he's looking for. I doubt there would be teams in the Premier League quick to jump at the opportunity to bring him in because of his record in the Premier League. Back in Portugal? Yes. I think there's obviously clubs that would look at him because he's won the league there and he’s better suited to it.

“It almost becomes more and more difficult to sustain that sort of success. Look at Xabi Alonso. Look at what he did at Bayer Leverkusen. He goes to Real Madrid, everybody thought that it was a marriage made in heaven, and seven months on he’s gone. But that won’t tarnish Alonso to the same extent because of what he did in Germany. That speaks for itself.

“For Amorim, it’s slightly different. He hasn’t got such a record behind him. But I’m sure he’ll be back in management somehow.”

United will be working with Carrick through to the end of the 2025-26 campaign. His first game at the helm will be a derby date with arch-rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday.

That testing encounter will be followed by a trip to Premier League leaders Arsenal, with the Red Devils facing a tough ask when it comes to making positive progress in an ongoing bid to reach the top four and secure Champions League qualification for 2026-27.