Gareth Bale has backed Carlo Ancelotti to succeed at Manchester United should he take over at Old Trafford in the summer.
Manchester United are currently conducting a thorough process to recruit a new head coach ahead of the 2026/27 season.
United parted ways with Ruben Amorim at the start of the new year, with reports claiming the Portuguese head-coach had fallen out with Jason Wilcox and the United hierarchy after being asked to move away from his favoured 3-4-3 system.
United appointed Michael Carrick till the end of the season and the former United midfielder has impressed so far, winning six out of eight games.
The prospect of Carrick taking the job permanently seems to be a growing possibility, but United have also been linked to the likes of Oliver Glasner, Marco Silva, Adoni Iraola and Roberto De Zerbi.
Bale backs Ancelotti to succeed at United
Speaking to The Overlap, Gareth Bale endorsed Carlo Ancelotti as a possible candidate to take over at Old Trafford this summer.
“I think he would do great. He’s not just the manager; he is a coach as well. He can do the tactical stuff. When his son was then the head coach in his second spell [at Real Madrid], and he did a lot more tactically then than we did the first time, but I think we had a better team at the first time,” Bale explained.
“I think he would… wherever Carlo goes, I think he would do an amazing job, just because he gets everyone on board.
“If you go into a big club, you’ve got good players, whether they’re performing at the time or not, like Man United, they have been the last few weeks, but prior to that, they hadn’t been performing, but they’ve got good players, he’ll get the best out of players and will just simplify things, which you see now with Michael Carrick.
“He’s simplifying a lot of things that the previous manager was doing, and you’re getting results. So that’s Carlo’s genius, getting the best out of the players and just making it simple.”
The chances of Ancelotti moving to United this summer are basically non-existent, though. The former Real Madrid manager is set to sign a four-year contract extension with the Brazilian national team.
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United need a proven winner
Manchester United need to recruit a manager who is a proven winner. The club also needs someone with the experience and character required to deal with the pressure that comes with managing a club of the size of Manchester United. Ancelotti ticks all those boxes, but as already explained, he is unattainable.
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Luis Enrique would be the dream candidate, but it’s unclear exactly what his future at Paris Saint-Germain holds. Xabi Alonso did an outstanding job at Bayer Leverkusen and is now a free agent following his departure from Real Madrid, but it is probably unlikely he would take the United job given his past as a player at Liverpool.
Julian Nagelsmann is someone else that has been regularly mentioned in connection with the United job, but it is unlikely he’ll become available this summer given his contract with the German FA runs until 2028.
United’s options seem to be quite limited right now which increases the chances of Carrick staying, but the club might turn to Roberto De Zerbi. The Italian is now without a club after leaving Marseille, and United held extensive talks with him in 2024.
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