Former Newcastle United and Chelsea striker Demba Ba has revealed he almost joined Ralf Rangnick's coaching staff at Manchester United.

Rangnick took over as interim manager at United last December, but plans to stay for a two-year consultancy were scrapped after the appointment of Erik ten Hag.

In an interview with i, Ba said: "When Ralf got appointed he called me, he said to me he wanted me on his staff. He said: 'You know the Premier League, you know players, you have a background that is close to theirs, you speak English and German and you can be the link between the squad and my staff'.

"For him he saw it as a perfect match and I'd be able to help him, he thought they'd respect me for who I was and what I'd done in the Premier League. It was a six-month assignment to go in and help but it didn't happen because the visa didn't get accepted.

"For me it's not a regret. Getting experience is always good – it would have been good to get that experience. I'm still working as hard as ever in life, probably even more now."