Ralf Rangnick
Ralf Rangnick says Manchester United could consider a transfer target’s vaccination status before they decide whether to sign them. A number of Premier League managers have expressed their hesitancy about signing players unvaccinated against Covid-19, with Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp saying they pose a ‘constant threat’ to teammates.
Ralf Ragnick said: “Yes, I think it could be a consideration and I fully understand what Jurgen said. But it also depends if you want to sign a player and risk him not being available. This is an issue the clubs seriously have to think about. If you sign a player knowing from the very first day that he has not been vaccinated, you have to be aware that he might not be available – not only for 10 days, but this could happen regularly in Covid times. Those are the regulations, this is the case and, as I said, it may not just happen once, it could happen several times in the future and therefore it should also be in the interest of players to be vaccinated. But, as I said, in the end it’s a decision that each club has to take by themselves and find the best possible solution. You had the example of Joshua Kimmich, who was extremely hesitant at the beginning and I think in the meantime he has realised it might be a good idea to get vaccinated. He caught Covid, he still has some problems with his lungs. Hopefully, he’ll be back after Christmas in the new year at full strength and can play again for Bayern Munich. I think this is an issue where of course everybody can and should have his free will but I think in football, especially at this level we are playing at, we need to try to convince our players to get vaccinated. And to be honest, I don’t know which of our players have had two or three vaccinations. This is a question that only our medical department could answer but I know from our medical department that our ratio of vaccinated players is above the average of the Premier League.”
