EXCLUSIVE: Carlo Ancelotti’s Man Utd dream revealed

Robin Bairner

9 Jan 2026 12:54 GMT
4 min read

Carlo Ancelotti has dreamed of becoming Man Utd manager — © IMAGO

Carlo Ancelotti once regarded the Manchester United managerial job as one that he wanted before retirement, setting him up as a potential candidate for the Old Trafford role next summer.

Article continues under the video

Ancelotti is currently Brazil head coach, where he has a contract until after the World Cup, and football transfers expert Duncan Castles explained on the Transfers Podcast in conjunction with FootballTransfers that the Italian has dreamed of taking charge of the Red Devils in the past.

With Man Utd willing to wait until the summer to appoint a permanent manager, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seemingly in pole to take the interim post until the end of the season, the door could be open for the ex-Real Madrid and Chelsea manager to return to the Premier League.

“Carlo Ancelotti is interesting. I heard a long time ago, when he was Chelsea manager, from someone close to him, that he always coveted the Manchester United job and wanted to do it before retiring. That was when United were a much better-functioning football club,” Castles explained.

The revered journalist also believes that other big names heading to the World Cup could be candidates.

“There’s a strong argument for waiting until the summer, when it’s easier to access certain individuals, particularly coaches working with national teams ahead of the World Cup,” he said.

“Thomas Tuchel was a candidate last time around, involved in that managerial speed-dating process Jim Ratcliffe conducted when they were looking to move on from Ten Hag at the end of his final full season. Mauricio Pochettino was also a candidate then and remains one now.

“Let’s assume that interest still exists. You do have to wait until the summer for those three.”

© IMAGO - Carlo Ancelotti: Has dreamed of Man Utd job

Premier League candidates

But there is also the possibility of recruiting the next manager from within the Premier League – something that Castles believes the club should have braced themselves for before now.

“Oliver Glasner, Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva are all Premier League-based candidates. All make sense when you look at United’s recent recruitment policy, which has been highly focused on Premier League analytics.

“They’re all out of contract at the end of the season, so the compensation packages to get them out of Crystal Palace, Bournemouth or Fulham wouldn’t be huge. If you’d properly prepared for this, rather than reacting to what you described as an emotional upset, you’d think one of them would be ready to go.”

Man Utd are a long way from deciding the identity of their next manager, with an interim boss yet to be decided upon.

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•Google Play

•App Store