Man Utd, Tottenham Given Former Premier League Winner As Surprise Manager Option

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have been handed an unexpected managerial option after Flamengo dismissed Filipe Luís, the 40-year-old former Chelsea and Atlético Madrid full-back who has become the most decorated unemployed coach in world football.

Luís was sacked on Tuesday night, less than 24 hours after an 8-0 rout of Madureira sent Flamengo into the Campeonato Carioca final. The decision ends a 101-match tenure that yielded seven trophies, among them the 2025 Copa Libertadores and the most recent Brazilian Serie A crown.

The timing stunned observers: Flamengo had rewarded Luís with a lucrative two-year extension in December, and his trophy haul averages out to one piece of silverware every 14 games. Yet a stuttering start to the 2026 domestic campaign—four points from three fixtures—and back-to-back defeats in the Supercopa and Recopa finals convinced directors to cut ties, even at a cost of roughly $3.5 million in severance.

United and Spurs are both in the market for permanent managers. Michael Carrick is auditioning for the Old Trafford role after Erik ten Hag’s departure, while Igor Tudor’s Tottenham future looks bleak following a pair of listless defeats in which he publicly bemoaned a side “lacking quality to score, lacking runners, lacking defenders.” Both clubs’ current interim bosses are out of contract in June, and the looming World Cup summer compresses the timeline for appointments.

Luís’s candidacy is bolstered by more than medals. A protégé of Diego Simeone and José Mourinho, he favours a possession-based scheme reminiscent of Roberto De Zerbi, luring the press before slicing through midfield. His Flamengo side went unbeaten in Brazil for months, outplayed Chelsea 3-1 in last summer’s Club World Cup group phase, and drew admiring words from Stamford Bridge boss Enzo Maresca.

The west London club even interviewed Luís in January before opting for Liam Rosenior, deterred at the time by Flamengo’s hefty buy-out clause. That obstacle has now vanished.

Whether United or Spurs will gamble on a coach available because his former employers grew impatient after two bad finals remains to be seen. What is certain is that few candidates on the open market can match Filipe Luís’s silverware ratio—or his freshly minted availability.