Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was given a helping hand in his journey into management by Ralf Rangnick – who has now taken over as interim manager of rivals Man Utd
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Rangnick ‘couldn’t possibly turn down’ Man Utd role
Ralf Rangnick has revealed how he acted as Jurgen Klopp’s unofficial agent when the Liverpool boss was trying to break into management.
Manchester United ’s new gaffer recalled how Klopp rang him for advice when he was offered the chance to take the top job at Mainz in 2001 – and how he urged him not to undersell himself.
Rangnick, who is also responsible for giving Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel his first coaching job, remains a close friend of the man who has guided United’s biggest rivals to Premier League and Champions League glory.
Rangnick said: “I remember before Jurgen became head coach at Mainz and he called me.
“I was at Ulm at the time and Jurgen asked me what kind of money he should be asking for from Mainz.
“He didn’t have an agent, so I told him. In a way, I was his agent and I advised him what he should ask for.
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“Jurgen said ‘ah, do you not think that is too much to ask?’ I told him it was the right thing to do – and I am pretty sure he got what he wanted.
“I didn’t ring Jurgen about coming here, but we have known each other since 1997.
“I was not his mentor – that was a coach called Wolfgang Frank – but we have always been in contact and had a good relationship with each other.
“We respect each other and that will continue.”
Rangnick was Tuchel’s manager at Ulm before offering him a new career in coaching when injury took its toll.
He added: “With Thomas it is different. He was my player at Ulm first, but only for six months because he then had to finish his career because of a knee injury.
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“Two years later, when I was in Stuttgart, I asked him if he wanted to become the coach of our Under-15s team – and that was the start of his coaching career.
“I later tried to lure him away from Augsburg when I was at Hoffenheim and I wanted him to become our Under-23 coach.
“But Christian Heidel at Mainz came in and three or four months later, he became coach of their first team.
“To do what Thomas did in four months at Chelsea was incredible.
“To win the Champions League, finish fourth in the league, and now be top of the league with almost the same players, is a big achievement.”
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