Andy Mitten has now explained two different accounts that he has heard about the reasons behind Thomas Tuchel turning down a move to Manchester United.
Thomas Tuchel has become linked with a move to Old Trafford again after Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe sacked Ruben Amorim from his head coach role this month.
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The 52-year-old German coach was tipped as a potential replacement for Erik ten Hag in 2024 after Ineos explored options for the Manchester United manager post.
Ineos launched an end-of-season review after the Red Devils finished eighth in the Premier League table in the 2023-24 campaign under ex-United boss Erik ten Hag.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos were admirers of Tuchel and were keen to bring him to Old Trafford, but the former Chelsea manager ultimately turned down the approach.
READ MORE: Paul Scholes’ ‘only one winner’ involving Thomas Tuchel is disregarding key advantages of another Man Utd candidate
Manchester United-linked Thomas Tuchel during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in 2025 in London, England.
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Andy Mitten spotlights one thing that he heard about Thomas Tuchel’s reason for turning down the Man Utd approach
Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe handed Erik ten Hag a new Manchester United contract and backed him in the 2024 summer window after failing to land Thomas Tuchel.
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However, Ten Hag’s reign as Man Utd manager ended in the 2024-25 season after the 55-year-old former Ajax boss was sacked by the Premier League club in 2024.
Speaking on The Athletic’s Talk Of The Devils podcast, Andy Mitten said that one of the reasons Thomas Tuchel turned down Man Utd was due to personal things in his life.
The 7 managers contacted by Ineos about the Man United job before Ruben Amorim’s appointment
Roberto De Zerbi
Thomas Tuchel
Graham Potter
Thomas Frank
Xavi
Mauricio Pochettino
Marco Silva
Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks on before the trophy presentation after the Europa League final match between Tottenham and Manchester United at the Estadio de San Mames in 2025 in Bilbao, Spain.
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“So, I’ve heard two versions of this,” he admitted.
“One of them is that he was the favourite. The money wasn’t going to be an issue. I think he’s got two teenage daughters. I was told that he just wasn’t ready for it.
“Such a full-on difficult job at the stage of the life that he was in and that’s to be respected.”
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Andy Mitten on the other eye-opening reason that Thomas Tuchel did not become Man Utd manager
Man Utd not signing up Tuchel in 2024 paved the way for the FA to snap up the former Bayern Munich boss as the successor to Sir Gareth Southgate for England.
Tuchel took charge of the Three Lions in 2025 and the former Borussia Dortmund head coach has his full attention focused on the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Mitten revealed another account of why Tuchel rejected the advancements of Man Utd in 2024 came down to the Red Devils’ handling of the whole situation.
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“I was also told United were messing around by a different source,” he added.
“So, you know, I think he was the number one, number two target along with [Roberto] De Zerbi, who went to Marseille.
“There was an issue, though, De Zerbi was financial, I think he wanted far more than Manchester United were willing to pay, so that was the issue around those two and there were other candidates spoken to as well.”
Man Utd-linked Tuchel will be out of contract with the Three Lions at the end of the 2026 World Cup in the summer.
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