New Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag reportedly influenced Ralf Rangnick's decision not to take up his proposed consultancy role with the club.
Rangnick had been due to move upstairs following his six-month interim stint in charge, even after being appointed as manager of the Austria national team at the end of April.
However, he subsequently announced that he would be leaving for good - just six days after former Ajax head coach Ten Hag had begun work at Old Trafford.
And, according to ESPN, Ten Hag was partly responsible for Rangnick's apparently sudden departure.
The report states that the Dutchman - who is United's fifth permanent manager since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson - had reservations about working with Rangnick in a consultancy capacity.
Ten Hag is said to have become frustrated by the German's frequent public comments on the potential scale of United's rebuild.
In the wake of April's 4-0 defeat away to Liverpool, Rangnick suggested that extensive summer business might be necessary. He said:
"If you analyse the situation, it is not difficult to analyse. For me, it is clear there will be six, seven, eight, maybe ten new players."
Such assessments seem to have rubbed Ten Hag up the wrong way and ultimately contributed to Rangnick's exit.
