Massimiliano Allegri rejected Manchester United offer before taking over at Juventus
According to Il Bianconaero (h/t Daily Mail), Manchester United made an attempt to land Massimiliano Allegri before the Italian eventually returned to take over at Juventus.
The 53-year-old was out of a job for two years after parting ways with Juventus in 2019. A proven winner in Turin, he was linked with a number of job opportunities across Europe.
His staying out of a job appears to have been by choice since he was offered numerous positions at some of Europe’s top clubs including United.
This was revealed by Allegri’s mentor Giovanni Galeone who revealed that the Italian rejected overtures from Manchester United, Chelsea (twice), Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
When exactly United reached out to Allegri is unclear. However, the timeline makes for an interesting read. This is because Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only took over as full-time manager at United in March 2019 while Allegri left Juventus two months later in May.
This means there was some point in the last two years where the United hierarchy had thoughts of replacing the Norwegian. A rather curious outlook given the public backing he has often received from Ed Woodward.
One can, however, understand United’s take on the matter. Allegri is an extremely successful coach who is head and shoulders above Solskjaer when it compares to their managerial record.
The Norwegian has struggled to land a single piece of silverware in his tenure and has often bottled key matches. Whether Allegri could have done better is debatable but his track record suggests he may well have.
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United have now gone four years without winning a major honour. While there are reports that Solskjaer is set to pen a new contract, the upcoming campaign could prove pivotal to him keeping his job at the club.
A club such as United cannot afford to go half a decade without winning trophies and the Norwegian may be the one to bite the bust. A legend as a player, it is fair to say that his record as a manager leaves much to be desired.
