Currently manager at Al-Rayyan in Qatar, working alongside their latest recruit James Rodríguez, Laurent Blanc is enjoying life.
Linked from time to time with jobs in Europe, the former France national team boss doesn’t appear to be in a rush to return to this side of the world, as his team currently sit fifth in the Qatar Stars League after five games.
The 55-year-old gave an interview to Panenka in Spain, where he detailed his career, that took from switching to playing in defence at Montpellier, all the way to his last club, Manchester United.
The 1998 World Cup winner spent two seasons at Old Trafford between 2001 and 2003 under Sir Alex Ferguson, which was a move that came five years later than what the legendary manager originally wanted.
“Five years later, he came back for me and convinced me. He told me: ‘I want you to work with more for at least one year. I have very young defenders, like the Neville brothers, Rio Ferdinand, West Brown… and you have a lot of experience’. It was incredible, and now I regret not having gone to England earlier”.
Blanc signed for Barcelona in 1996, where he only started one year before moving to Marseille until 1999, which led to him moving to Inter until 2001.
That’s when the move to Manchester United was put together, and while his first season didn’t entirely go to plan, he did retire from football in 2003, having helped the Old Trafford side win the Premier League with 83 points in 38 games, five ahead of closest rivals Arsenal.
