Ralf Rangnick decides against joining Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich suffered another blow in their search for a new head coach to replace Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season. The Bavarian club was confident about sorting a deal to appoint Ralf Rangnick in the next few days. However, Rangnick announced his decision to stick with the Austrian national team on Thursday.

The German coach rejected a move to Bayern due to personal reasons. It is a massive blow for Bayern as Rangnick is third head coach to turn down a move to Bavaria. Xabi Alonso was the top target for Rekordmeister, but he decided to stay with Bayer Leverkusen for next season.

After Alonso decided to stay at Leverkusen, Bayern worked on a deal to bring Julian Nagelsmann back to Munich. However, Nagelsmann ended up extending his contract with DFB until 2026. Bayern turned their attention to Rangnick after Nagelsmann decided to stay with the German national team.

Despite missing out on their third target, Bayern are sure about not continuing with Thomas Tuchel beyond the current campaign. The club CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen ruled out Tuchel extending his stay in Munich while talking to the media after Bayern’s 2-2 draw against Real Madrid.

Bayern are running out of options to replace Tuchel. They wanted a deal agreed for the new head coach by the end of April. As things stand, Die Roten will do well to finalize an agreement for the new coach by the end of the season.

After the rejection from Rangnick, Bayern Munich may turn their attention to Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi. Max Eberl reportedly held talks with De Zerbi during the last international break. The Italian coach has a release clause inserted in his contract at Brighton.

Aston Villa’s Unai Emery was also linked with a move to Bayern Munich. However, the Spanish coach recently signed a contract extension until 2027 with the Midlands club. VfB Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness is another possible target for Bayern, but the German coach also signed a contract extension a few weeks ago.

As things stand, the best possible solution for Bayern will be to stick with Tuchel for one more season. After a turbulent February, Die Roten have steadily improved on the pitch under Tuchel. They are one win away from booking a place in the Champions League finals. Since no outstanding candidate is in the market to replace the former Chelsea head coach, Bayern should strongly consider keeping Tuchel for next season.