Erik ten Hag intends to move into a nice flat in the center of Manchester when he takes over as manager of the Red Devils next month.
On Thursday morning, the 52-year-old was revealed as Ralf Rangnick’s successor at Manchester United, signing a three-year contract at Old Trafford. He will begin his new post when the current season concludes at Ajax, who are trying to win the Eredivisie title. With four games remaining, the Dutch heavyweights lead PSV by four points.
If Ten Hag signs a lease in Manchester, he will avoid a blunder committed by Jose Mourinho during his two-and-a-half-year tenure at Old Trafford. Rather than moving to the area, the Portuguese coach famously resided in a hotel during his tenure in the North West.
United fans were concerned about Mourinho’s inability to find a house in Manchester. It gave the idea that his time at the club would be brief. And, as we now know, his long-term prospects did not lie in the northern metropolis.
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Mourinho delivered success at United, winning the club’s most recent titles, although he failed to compete in the Premier League and the Champions League. At the time of his departure, they were also suffering, sitting 11 points out of the top four.
“I’d be uncomfortable if I was alone in a house,” Mourinho told The Telegraph in 2019. “I’d have to clean, which I despise. I’d have to iron, but I’m not sure how. If I have to cook, I’ll make fried eggs and sausages because that’s all I know how to do.
“I’d be terribly unhappy. I lived in a fantastic apartment, not a room. It wasn’t like I had to leave after a week because it was all mine. No, it belonged to me. I had left everything there, including my television, books, and computer. It was flat, with requests such as “bring me a coffee latte, please” or “I don’t want to go down for dinner, bring my supper up.”
“I’d be watching football or working with one of my assistants when I’d say, ‘bring us food.’ I had everything; if I were living alone in an apartment, it would be much more difficult. I was fine, in fact, I was more than fine.”
Ten Hag wants to be a part of United’s culture and traditions, but Mourinho is content to live in a hotel. He does not intend to bring many members of his Ajax backroom team to Manchester, preferring to hire people who understand the club’s identity. Mitchell van der Gaag, Ten Hag’s current assistant, is set to follow him.
Steve McClaren, who was Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant when they won the treble in 1998-99, is set to join the Dutchman’s backroom team soon. During the 2008-09 season, Ten Hag worked as McClaren’s assistant at Twente.
The new United manager will be following in the footsteps of Pep Guardiola, who has lived in Manchester since being recruited by City in the summer of 2016. Guardiola has won three Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, two Community Shields, and the FA Cup in the last six years, and has built a relationship with the club’s fans.
The Spaniard is in charge at the Etihad for the longest time in his career and was caught singing along to Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger” during last season’s title celebrations. Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis are die-hard City fans.
