Former Kaizer Chiefs defender details how he almost became a Manchester United coach before Benni McCarthy

Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Bradley Carnell has revealed he almost joined Manchester United to work with Ralf Rangnick.

The ex-Bafana Bafana man had previously played under the German at VfB Stuttgart.

Carnell and Rangnick were to cross paths again when the South African was working at New York Red Bulls while the latter was in charge of Red Bulls' global football projects as head of sport and development.

“Those were very true, very connected links,” Carnell told FARPost.

“All his [Rangnick] coaches at that time were tied up in long-standing contracts, and I was just joining Saint Louis, so I had just signed the contract as well.

"I wasn’t technically working in that first few months of 2022, so from that point of view, it would have been a very possible scenario," added the former Bafana Bafana star.

“It’s always good to know that your work is valued and people regard you in high esteem.”

Interestingly, when Rangnick left Manchester United, he was replaced by Erick ten Hag who brought in Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy to be part of his backroom staff.

Having Carnell almost joining United and then McCarthy working at the Premier League giants might be testimony of the high quality of South African coaches.

Others like Pitso Mosimane, Rhulani Mokwena, Quinton Fortune and Fadlu Davids are coaching in different places around the world.

Carnell is currently unattached after leaving St Louis City in July 2024 and could be open to coaching in the PSL.

He was linked with the AmaZulu job when Pablo Franco Martin was fired but the club opted for a co-coaching set-up of Arthur Zwane and Vusumuzi Vilakazi.