Austria national team manager Ralf Rangnick is reportedly one of the candidates being considered to take over from Xavi Hernandez at Barcelona at the end of the season.
Rangnick is an established figure in football management and sports development. He helped set up the Red Bull football enterprise in Europe, working with Red Bull Salzburg and Red Bull Leipzig to make them competitive. His work took him to Russia and then to England, where he had a very famous stint with Manchester United.
He has been in the dugout of the Austria national team for the last two-and-a-half years. In that time, journalists who report on the team have admitted to visible changes in their style of play and team organisation.
It is uncertain how long his contract with the Austrian FA runs for but the German is now being looked at to help develop Barcelona, which is one of the youngest teams in Spain. Rangnick’s work with developing young talents precedes him, despite his last stint as a manager at club failing to yield results.
Sport reports that Joan Laporta wants the 65-year-old to help the La Masia youth transition and adapt fully into the first team at Barcelona because he is bullish on making the academy the major source of Barcelona’s first team representation.
Rangnick now joins Xabi Alonso, Mikel Arteta, Jürgen Klopp and Roberto De Zerbi as potential Xavi replacements.
Alonso is also wanted by Liverpool and Real Madrid, and is also adamant about remaining with Bayer 04 Leverkusen for at least one more season, according to reports.
Arteta is not considering any offers as he wants to be with Arsenal until he wins something or is let go off, while Klopp is looking to take a break from management after he leaves Liverpool in the summer.
De Zerbi, however, only wants the Premier League regardless of the club that he manages. This is according to reports that have been circulating in recent times since his name popped up on Barcelona’s radar. The financial implications of having De Zerbi in their dugout are also way beyond the Catalan giants’ capacities at the moment.
A rumour is also going around about a potential return for one of two former Barcelona bosses – Frank Rijkaard and Luis Enrique.
Rijkaard was the club’s manager when Messi made his debut in Laporta’s first stint as Barcelona’s president. He left in a similar manner to Xavi and has only managed Galatasaray in Turkey and Saudi Arabia since then, leaving management in 2013.
Enrique led Barcelona to a famous treble in 2015 and after years of successes, also left the role as Xavi will. He is currently at Paris Saint-Germain but his future with the French giants is uncertain.
Rangnick may be the only reasonable option among this list but Barcelona still have 16 weeks to wrap up a search for Xavi’s replacement. More reportage will follow as development occurs.
