One seasoned head coach has explained how Manchester United turned him down twice in the wake of Mauricio Pochettino's appointment

Several managers from Europe's elite leagues have been overlooked for the Manchester United job in the years following Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement. While some may have interpreted such rejections as evidence that Premier League football isn't suited to them, that certainly isn't the case with Rudi Garcia.

It was back in 2021 when Garcia came within touching distance of the United role. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had just been dismissed and the French boss progressed through two rounds of interviews.

Ultimately, the club opted to appoint Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis before securing Erik ten Hag the following summer. Garcia's reputation was fairly strong at that point.

He had guided Lyon to the 2019/20 Champions League semi-finals, knocking out Manchester City en-route, though the Ligue 1 outfit had declined the following campaign and their boss departed after finishing fourth.

The 62-year-old subsequently took charge at Al Nassr - where he became the manager who handed Cristiano Ronaldo his Saudi Pro League debut - before stints with Napoli and then the Belgium national side. Regardless, he remains optimistic about a Premier League opportunity despite his near miss with United.

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He told the Athletic: "Yes, I interviewed twice to work in this fantastic club, one of the best clubs in the world. I'd like to work in England and I met Darren Fletcher (then technical director) and John Murtough (then football director).

"It was an interim role and they asked me what I would do once it was over. I told them I would do so well that I would be staying in Manchester, but they gave the job to Ralf.

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"Manchester United is a huge club but I'd coached at big clubs where the fans made amazing atmospheres: Roma, Marseille, Lyon, Napoli. That brings pressure and can be complicated but it's also wonderful when you win.

"I'm Mediterranean from my origins and I have the hot blood. Even in Napoli - I was only there four months before I was sacked by the president, not because of results but because I wanted to make the decisions a coach should make - I enjoyed it."

Garcia had previously discussed the interview process with Le Figaro back in 2022, touching on the significance of speaking the language of any nation in which you wish to manage. He said: "In Manchester, the interviews went pretty well

"I saw John Murtough and Darren Fletcher, I told them I had to work on my English and Darren, who is Scottish, had a cool joke telling me that I did not yet have the level with the Scottish accent to answer, but that it was very good.

"I find it respectful to speak the language in the country where you work. At Marseille or Lyon, I waged war on my players to take French lessons. When you see [Carlo] Ancelotti speaking our language despite leaving PSG, it's classy."

It comes as Mauricio Pochettino is set to arrive as Michael Carrick's successor at the Theatre of Dreams next week. Carrick was shown the door on Thursday after a poor start to the Premier League which has left United languishing in 18th.

Pochettino, meanwhile, will leave the United States national team to once again take the reins of a Premier League outfit, having enjoyed past stints with Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton.