Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal has suggested he was approached by Middlesbrough following his dismissal at Hillsborough in 2017, Fourfourtwo report.
The Portuguese boss was a big hit at Wednesday as he guided the Owls to the playoffs.
In 2015-16, the Owls reached the playoff final only to lose to Hull City at Wembley. The following season, Carvalhal’s side lost in the semi-finals to Huddersfield Town on penalties.
His third campaign at Wednesday didn’t go as well as expected. With the Owls languishing in midtable, Carvalhal was dismissed on Christmas eve following a defeat to Middlesbrough.
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Ironically, Boro were manager-less at the time after dismissing Garry Monk.
Speaking to Fourfourtwo, Carvalhal says he was approached by another Championship club on Christmas day before taking over at Swansea City on Boxing Day.
“I went through the awful experience of being sacked on Christmas Eve – my family had travelled to spend it with me. On Christmas Day, I got a call from another Championship side. Then on Boxing Day, my phone rang again and the Swansea chairman invited me over for a meeting. After that, it all happened very fast. Since I’d already packed my things to return to Portugal, I only had to put my bags in the car and drive to Swansea,” Carvalhal explained.
Middlesbrough were the only other Championship club without a manager at the time, suggesting it was Boro who approached Carvalhal before they went on to appoint Tony Pulis.
The Teesside club have made several managerial changes over the past few seasons, with both Monk and Pulis later having short spells in charge at Wednesday.
Carvalhal has since rebuilt his reputation back in his native Portugal.
The 55-year-old guided Rio Ave to their best-ever top-flight points tally of 55 points ensuring a Europa League place before taking over Braga who he guided to a cup final.
Carvalhal adds he still holds strong feelings for Wednesday who have gone 20 years without Premier League football, and believes he will return to Hillsborough sometime in the future.
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