Of course, it was no longer a surprise.
This Monday, Manchester United confirmed: Ralf Rangnick will continue to work as interim coach until the end of the current season and then for at least two more years in an advisory role at the Premier League club.
According to the announcement, the 63-year-old's work permit is still pending in the UK.
If it is available by then, Rangnick could sit on the bench of his new club for the first time in the league game against Arsenal next Thursday.
It was only in the summer that Rangnick signed a contract as Managing Director Sport and Communication at Lokomotiv Moscow. The contract has now been terminated. It is not known whether United paid a transfer fee. In a kind of interview, Rangnick is said to have completely convinced the decision-makers at Old Trafford with his vision: According to reports, he was the first choice for the deputy chairman of the board Ed Woodward, the football director John Murtough and the technical director Darren Fletcher - despite allegedly more well-known candidates for the post.
"Ralf is one of the most respected coaches and innovators in European football," said Murtough in confirming Rangnick's commitment: "He was our number one candidate as an interim coach." According to reports, Rangnick brings a small group of assistants with him to Manchester, but he will also work on site with the existing staff - including Michael Carrick, the former co-trainer of the dismissed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is currently looking after the team.
He is looking forward to his new role at Manchester United and is fully focused on ending this season successfully, said Rangnick: "The squad is full of talent and has a great balance between youth and experience." His job will be for the next six months consist of helping players reach their full potential - "individually and, most importantly, as a team".
What will happen to ronaldo?
United spent the equivalent of around 140 million euros on additions before the season.
Jadon Sancho came from Borussia Dortmund, Raphaël Varane from Real Madrid, world star Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus Turin.
Some of the best-paid Premier League professionals are under contract with United.
Despite this, England's record champions, who have stumbled for years, are only eighth in the table after 13 games - the point difference to leaders Chelsea is greater than that to Burnley FC in the first relegation position.
In the Champions League group F, United is first - mainly because of Ronaldo's goals.
Critics still see him as an obstacle because United's game revolves around him too much.
It will be exciting to see what role Ronaldo plays in Rangnick's plans.
As a proven football expert, Rangnick is the exact opposite of his predecessor Solskjaer, who was primarily an emotional cast because of his services as a United player. The fans will therefore hope that Rangnick will be able to prevent a completely screwed up season. German coaches have a good reputation in England: Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool FC and Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea FC are likely to have served as inspiration for Messrs. Woodward, Murtough and Fletcher.
During these days, both Klopp and Tuchel expressed their respect for Rangnick, who has a reputation as a tactical modernizer.
However, there are also doubts as to whether Rangnick, as a more long-term oriented planner, is the right person to quickly effect an improvement as an interim trainer - especially since the team does not necessarily fit his style, which is geared towards pressing.
"He has a lot of work to do," wrote the BBC in an analysis: "That much is certain."