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Man United fans fear the worst as Real Madrid announce Julen Lopetegui as new boss

Published 17:54 12 Jun 2018 BST

Simon Lloyd
Man United fans fear the worst as Real Madrid announce Julen Lopetegui as new boss

Homesport

Real Madrid have finally appointed their new manager

No, not that guy... and no, not him, either. Instead, they've appointed Julen Lopetegui as their new head coach, scheduled to take charge at the Bernabeu after he's finished managing Spain at the World Cup. Lopetegui was Porto boss prior to taking the big job with Spain in 2016. Prior to that, he also oversaw the Spanish U21 team which won the 2013 European Championships. Several members of that team are a part of Spain's senior squad for this summer's tournament in Russia, including Thiago Alcantara, Koke and a certain David De Gea... Yep. You know where this one's going. Lopetegui has worked with De Gea before De Gea has, you may recall, been linked with a move to Real Madrid a couple of times in the past. In 2015, he was a dodgy fax machine away from signing for them, only for it all to go spectacularly wrong at the eleventh hour. He's stayed put at Manchester United ever since, though rumours he may be on the cusp of a move to the European champions are never too far away. So, with the news of Lopetegui's next job announced, you can probably guess that many United fans were slightly uneasy about what this might mean for the future of their number one goalkeeper - especially given that he'll be spending plenty of time with him in the coming weeks. https://twitter.com/CheGiaevara/status/1006554074999869440 https://twitter.com/markgoldbridge/status/1006563296760213504 https://twitter.com/TheUnitedLink/status/1006557321261019140 https://twitter.com/Gicherengo/status/1006572367823458304 https://twitter.com/wefollowunited/status/1006564017358491650 https://twitter.com/Rvk2a/status/1006556926266703873 You get the idea. Buckle in United fans. It could be another looong summer. Spain kick off their World Cup campaign against Iberian neighbours Portugal on Friday night in Sochi - perhaps giving Lopetegui the ideal opportunity to have a word in a certain Cristiano Ronaldo's ear about his plans for the future. After that, the 2010 champions will take on Iran in Kazan the following Wednesday, with their final group game against Morocco in Kaliningrad on Monday 25.

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Man United fans fear the worst as Real Madrid announce Julen Lopetegui as new boss