Former Blackpool and Tranmere striker prevented from sealing dream move to Real Madrid
Former Blackpool youngster Andy Mangan’s dream move to Real Madrid is off.
That’s after the Spanish government rejected a work permit application for the 38-year-old ex-Seasiders striker to link up with the 15-times European Cup/Champions League winners.
Mangan, who is currently a first-team coach at Stockport County, had been teed up to become a member of manager Carlos Ancelotti’s backroom staff at Los Blancos.
It’s believed he impressed Ancelotti’s son, Davide - who is part of the current Real Madrid first-team coaching structure - while they worked together on their Uefa coaching badges.
Yet his switch from Edgeley Park to the 85,000-capacity Bernabeu is off for now, with Spanish authorities refusing to grant Mangan the right to work in the country.
That guarantees the much-travelled former forward a place on Stockport manager Dave Challinor’s coach as the inform League One side head to Crawley for their latest English Football League third-tier game on Saturday.
Mangan’s rise to the top of Real Madrid’s wanted list started at Blackpool, with the Liverpudlian joining the Seasiders as a 15-year-old.
The then teenager would spend three seasons at the club, scoring 49 times for the reserves. He was handed his Pool debut in a Division Two game against Chesterfield in April 2004. But made only one more senior outing for the club before being allowed to leave for Accrington on a free transfer in 2005.
Among Mangan’s other former clubs are Bury, Wrexham, Fleetwood, Shrewsbury and Tranmere. Meanwhile, a four-game spell was enjoyed at AFC Fylde during the 2017-18 season.
Following his retirement from playing in 2019, Mangan was handed his first coaching role at Fleetwood by Joey Barton. He also followed the former Newcastle and Man City midfielder to Bristol Rovers, where he acted as interim boss following Barton’s 2023 sacking.
He was in the Stockport dugout as County inflicted a 3-0 Bloomfield Road defeat on Blackpool in August.