Rio Ferdinand had some fun when he 'revealed' what he whispered to Thomas Tuchel at the Bernabeu.
The Bayern Munich boss was in high spirits as he gatecrashed TNT Sport's live coverage ahead of his side's heartbreaking Champions League semi-final second leg defeat to Real Madrid.
Tuchel, who will be standing down at the Allianz Arena at the end of the season, has been linked with replacing Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford and in a pre-match interview he let it be known that he's keen to work in the Premier League again.
Ten Hag is under huge pressure with United sitting eighth in the Premier League table, with Tuchel believed to be on the club's shortlist should Ten Hag be sacked.
And talkSPORT also understands that the ex-Chelsea manager would be keen on a return to England to take over at the Theatre of Dreams.
It appears that United legend Ferdinand was doing his best to gauge whether the speculation is true as the pair were caught on TV in conversation prior to kick-off in Spain.
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Ferdinand was seen with his hand around the German's face, who in turn laughed while covering his mouth.
Host Laura Woods and ex-Real Madrid star Steve McManaman, who won two Champions League titles with Los Blancos, wanted to know what the two were chatting about.
After Ferdinand insisted he was blown away by the 50-year-old's 'relaxed' attitude ahead of Madrid's 2-1 win, McManaman quipped: "What about the Manchester United job?"
To which a smiling Ferdinand replied: "That was the final part of the talk! Where are you going?"
Tuchel has made no secret of his love of the Premier League, having won the Champions League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup while with as Chelsea manager.
Discussing his future with TNT Sports, he remarked: "It is no secret that I loved it at Chelsea.
"I loved it in England and I loved it in the Premier League for sure.
"It was a very, very special time and I remember it very well."
His manner was a bit different at full-time, though, when reflecting on a decision to rule out a potential Matthijs de Ligt equaliser.
The second leg was even until Alphonso Davies scored first in the final 20 minutes of the game. However, Joselu scored twice to make it 2-1 in a dramatic final few minutes.
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Then, in the 13th minute of stoppage time, referee Szymon Marciniak blew his whistle, upon the offside flag being raised, just before De Ligt fired into the bottom corner after a Joshua Kimmich pass forced a scramble in Real's penalty box.
"We were almost through, almost there and had a very unusual mistake by our very best player for the equaliser," Tuchel told TNT Sports afterwards.
"Then we conceded in a very narrow decision, the second one in stoppage time. Then we scored one and they have a disastrous decision from the linesman and from the referee.
"So, it feels almost like a betrayal in the end because of that decision. It was a huge fight, we left everything on the pitch and we were almost there. Now we have to say congratulations to Real Madrid.
"The linesman said sorry, but that does not help. At that kind of level, to raise the flag in a decision like this, a close decision, in the last minute and the referee as well.
"The referee does not have to whistle. He sees that we win the second ball, he sees that we get a shot away and to whistle is a very, very bad decision.
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"And it is against the rules and it is a bad decision from both of them. It is a disaster. Tough to swallow, but that is the way it is."
While it looked like Bayern were on course to end Real's 13-month unbeaten home run, it is another wait for Harry Kane in search of a first major club trophy.
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- Thomas Tuchel - 7/4
- Gareth Southgate - 5/2
- Graham Potter - 6/1
- Roberto De Zerbi - 10/1
- Zinedine Zidane - 12/1
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