LONDON, May 29 — Manchester United announced today that Ralf Rangnick has decided against taking up a consultancy role with the English Premier League giants due to the demands of his new job as Austria manager.

The German took charge of United on a caretaker basis for the last six months of the recently concluded 2021/22 season after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in November and led the club to a sixth-placed finish in England’s top-flight.

Rangnick had been expected to stay at Old Trafford for the next two years in a consultancy post, but last month he was appointed as the new manager of Austria and it appears holding the two jobs at once is no longer a viable option for the 63-year-old.

"We would like to thank Ralf Rangnick for his efforts as interim manager over the past six months,” said a United statement.

"By mutual agreement, Ralf will now focus solely on his new role as manager of the Austria national team and will not therefore be taking up a consultancy role at Old Trafford.

"We would like to wish Ralf the best of luck in this next chapter of his career.” — AFP