“I looked my wife in the eye” – Manager on recently turning down QPR, would only accept Barca or Madrid

Rapid Wien coach Johannes Hoff Thorup has detailed recently turning down Queens Park Rangers, when they enquired about his services.

BOLD cover the situation today as part of an interview with the Danish coach this week. He recently went 252 days without a job after leaving Norwich City in April 2025.

His absence, though, was a self-imposed one. According to the newspaper, the 36-year-old coach had offers from the Championship within 14 days of leaving the Canaries. QPR even offered the Dane a contract.

That was rejected, with Hoff Thorup explaining that he’d only jump back in to work for the real big clubs. In simpler words, Real Madrid or Barcelona.

“There was a concrete offer on the table, a few weeks after I left Norwich,” he said.

“But I chose to look my wife in the eye and say: Okay, should we think about this and not just jump at the first offer?

“Unless Real Madrid or Barcelona had called, it was important for us to get our feet under us and come back to Copenhagen as a family. There have been great conversations and inquiries, and there have been a number of definite contract offers, but I have allowed myself to be picky.”

Being picky ultimately led him to Rapid Wien, who ‘presented him with exactly the right menu’. Hoff Thorup was announced as their new manager just before the New Year.

That required handling negotiations during the Christmas period, something most would find daunting. He’s happy with the outcome, though, explaining how he did things differently after his time at Norwich. Those choices, perhaps, led him to rejecting QPR’s advances.

“When I moved to England, I got an offer, which I ended up accepting. This time I had to figure out what to look for and what to ask the clubs,” he added.

“It has also meant that we have been able to prioritise the club being located in a place that you can stand to be. I will not be leaving without my family, so they must also be able to see themselves in it.

“It is really nice here with a city like Vienna. It is not only bearable, but a place you would like to live.”