Carlo Ancelotti on why he is not Manchester United manager today

Imagine the beautiful chemistry this man and his arched eyebrow could have made with Manchester United.

With each passing year, and autobiography, we are learning that David Moyes may have been the 'chosen one' out of whatever was left. Sir Alex Ferguson has already noted, in 'Leading', how he sat down with Pep Guardiola in November 2012 to talk future plans. The Spaniard was on a year's break and living in New York with his family but Ferguson felt sure he would carry on for another couple of years. In March 2013 he decided to retire but Guardiola was already sworn to Bayern Munich. Earlier this year, Jurgen Klopp revealed he had spoken with Ferguson, in April 2013, about succeeding him. Now manager of Liverpool, Klopp was then committed to kicking on with Borussia Dortmund.

"I first had to finish the job with Dortmund and then think about other things."

So Moyes was third choice? Not exactly. In a Times extract from his soon-to-be released book, Carlo Ancelotti says he also spoke with Ferguson about a switch to Old Trafford. He writes:

'I had already spoken to Real Madrid. For the experience, a manager has to go to Madrid. If it hadn’t been for that, I would have come, 100%.'

The Italian went on to win a Champions League with Real - the club's 10th - before being sacked a season later. Such is the musical chair nature of elite football management that Klopp [Liverpool], Guardiola [Manchester City] and Ancelotti [Bayern Munich] are all flush for jobs. Ferguson was also said to be interested in Louis van Gaal but the Dutchman was in the process of getting The Netherlands qualified for the 2014 World Cup. As for the chosen one, Celtic have today confirmed that he was not even interviewed for their vacant manager's position.