Former Man Utd coach Benni McCarthy was part of Erik ten Hag's backroom staff at Old Trafford between 2022 and 2024.
Ronaldo with McCarthy in 2022.(Image: 2022 AMA Sports Photo Agency)
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Nuno Espirito Santo said it was a "privilege" to be the only black manager currently in charge of a Premier League club when he was appointed at West Ham at the start of November.
He told the BBC: "I think there are a lot of black managers with talent that can soon be involved in the Premier League. Many [black coaches] are going to have good seasons, they're going to be available."
Nuno added that it was "always necessary to call people's attention" to the under-representation of coaches from ethnic minorities, but he does not believe discrimination is a factor in the recruitment of managers.
However, football's new independent regulator has been called to "address the bias" by the co-founder of Black Footballers Partnership, Delroy Corinaldi. There are other people in the game who feel their coaching careers have been detrimentally impacted by their ethnicity.
Former Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy is among those who disagree with Nuno. The 47-year-old coached at Carrington for two years as part of Erik ten Hag's backroom staff and dreams of managing in the Premier League, but has suggested his ethnicity might hold him back in the future.
In an interview with BestBettingSites.co.uk, McCarthy was asked about returning to manage in the Premier League and said: "That will always be a dream. But really, I think it's almost impossible.
"There is a very slim chance. But you have got to keep dreaming and hoping, working extremely hard towards that because when you see people looking like me, there's not a lot of us in management.
"Nuno is probably the only manager that's fortunate enough to be in such an honourable space. But for the rest of us, we'll continue to work hard and hopefully that opportunity one day comes."
McCarthy pictured at Carrington.(Image: 2023 Getty Images)
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McCarthy continued: "But if it doesn't, we will fight so that the next generation gets better opportunities off the back of the sacrifices we’ve made. It will always be a dream to manage in the Premier League or Championship. It's the best league in the world. It's the most exciting league.
"It's tough. It's got everything. So as players now turned over to become managers, you would also want to experience managing against the best teams, managing against the best managers in the world.
"To test yourself, to really put yourself out of your comfort zone. So that's what we all strive to achieve. I will continue to fight for that and hopefully one day somebody gives me the opportunity and I get to fulfil that dream."
McCarthy landed his first managerial job with Cape Town City in 2017. He guided the South African side to their first-ever cup title, but he was dismissed two years later after a run of just two wins in 18 games.
In 2020, McCarthy returned to management with another South African club, AmaZulu FC, guiding them to the CAF Champions League for the first time.
McCarthy's contract was ended by "mutual consent" two years later, and the opportunity to coach in Manchester came next. He was a late addition to Ten Hag's backroom staff and joined as a specialist striker coach to work with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
The South African was popular with the players and was credited with having a hand in Rashford's powerful headed goal against West Ham in the Premier League in October 2022.
Rashford connected with a cross from Christian Eriksen. Ten Hag and his then-assistant manager, Mitchell Van der Gaag, celebrated before shouting 'Benni!' in the direction of McCarthy.
"It's always good for the forwards to have a particular coach who focuses on us a group," Rashford said. "I think since Benni has come in, we've worked more as a team going forward, which has led to us creating more chances and scoring more goals. He keeps pushing us and tries to make us improve."
Rashford heads home against West Ham.(Image: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
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McCarthy departed United after the 2024 FA Cup triumph against Manchester City, deciding to leave to pursue management opportunities again, but it took him eight months to secure a head coach role.
It was announced in March that McCarthy had been named manager of Kenya's national team, and many saw the opportunity as a potential audition to one day manage South Africa.
The perception was that McCarthy had made progress during his Kenya tenure, but he suffered the largest loss of his career when his side were defeated 8-0 by Senegal during the November international break.
"McCarthy’s South Africa ambitions rocked by Kenya’s collapse against Senegal," read the headline of a newspaper in South Africa. McCarthy has been praised for improving standards in Kenya, but the defeat was a significant setback in his managerial career.
McCarthy has taken an unorthodox route if he wants to manage in the Premier League again - most coaches in the top flight have years of experience managing in European leagues. That seems like a logical next step if McCarthy wants to manage in England again.