Ineos’ best decision since buying Man Utd as manager told: I’m ashamed to have hired you!

Robin Bairner

• 24 Mar 2025 13:30 GMT
• 4 min read

Analysis

Thiago Motta was considered a candidate to replace Erik ten Hag at Manchester United last summer, but time has proven the Red Devils were right not to appoint the former Italy midfielder, who was sacked by Juventus at the weekend amid a blazing row with the club board.

During Man Utd’s lengthy season review following the end of the 2023/24 campaign, Ten Hag’s future hung in the balance and might only have been saved by the lack of a suitable candidate to replace him at Old Trafford.

Thiago Motta’s name was one that was mentioned as being a potential candidate, with the 42-year-old having led an exciting Bologna side to the Champions League on a shoestring.

The former PSG star’s stock was high after leading a side that contained the likes of Joshua Zirkzee, Riccardo Calafiori, Dan Ndoye and Lewis Ferguson to the European Cup.

This led to Juventus snapping him up following the exit of Max Allegri.

Thiago Motta’s record in Turin, though, was poor, posting just 18 wins from 42 matches.

It received a brutal assessment from Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli in a one-on-one meeting with the boss.

“I am ashamed at having hired you,” Giuntoli told Thiago Motta as the pair engaged in a heated argument, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

Juve have slipped out of the spots for Champions League qualification, with Bologna leapfrogging them into fourth. On top of this, they were knocked out of Europe by a PSV side subsequently battered by Arsenal 9-3 over two legs.

Juventus: Too much, too soon for Thiago Motta

Thiago Motta would have been forced to front up to many of the same issues at Manchester United if he had moved to Old Trafford instead of Juventus, where the sheer scale of the task was too much for him.

Italian football expert Carlo Garganese explains: “Motta appeared to lack personality and charisma, enduring a poor and dour relationship with the media, while there were increased rumours in his latter days that he was on bad terms with certain members of the squad.

“He struggled to condition the squad physically for playing twice a week, having only played once a week with Bologna last season.

“He was unlucky with injuries, losing his best player Bremer to an ACL in October, but all in all this job was too much too soon for a young, developing coach.”

Equally, playing style would have been an issue at Man Utd, too, particularly with a squad that is lacking immediate offensive flair and quality.

“Motta struggled throughout his reign in Turin to create and score goals,” Garganese continues. “In the first half of the season, Juve were very solid defensively and had good shape but their play always broke down when it reached the final third. This resulted in numerous draws and low-scoring games.

“In the second half of the season, Juventus even lost their defensive solidity and shape - as exemplified by their recent 4-0 and 3-0 thrashings by Atalanta and Fiorentina, respectively.

“Motta failed to get the best out of his big-money signings, with Teun Koopmeiners (€60m), Douglas Luiz (€50m) and Nico Gonzalez (€40m) all huge flops.”

So for all United’s struggles this season, the board did well to pass up their opportunity to snap up Motta.