Wurz, 41, retired as a racing driver this week and has been asked by owner Stephen Fitzpatrick to run the team.
The Austrian said: "I was approached. I would have preferred it not be out in public but I can't deny it."
Wurz would not say whether he would accept the role, which would be senior to the new one created for Ryan.
Manor team boss John Booth and sporting director Graeme Lowdon have resigned and their last race with the team will be the season finale in Abu Dhabi later this month.
Neither has said why they have chosen to quit but it seems they have lost confidence in the management of Fitzpatrick.
Ryan spent 34 years at McLaren before being forced to resign following the 'lie-gate' scandal in 2009, when he and Lewis Hamilton were found to have misled race stewards at the Australian Grand Prix.
It is widely believed in F1 that Ryan was not responsible for the incident, but was forced to take public responsibility.
He received a substantial redundancy payment from McLaren and has recently been running a team of McLaren cars in sportscar racing.
Ryan, 61, said: "I'm very excited to be joining the Manor Marussia F1 Team at a pivotal time in their development.
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"Having spent time with Stephen, and understood his vision for the future, it is clear he has ensured there is a strong platform from which the team can make big steps forward in the seasons ahead.
"Manor has all the hallmarks of a fiercely competitive racing team, but having grown up in a much more contemporary Formula 1 era, it is a very lean operation with a collaborative culture, which leaves it well placed to contend with the sport's future direction.
"There is clearly a big challenge ahead and a lot of work to do, but I can't wait to meet the wider team and get down to business."
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Private rents "eat up" more than 50% of a family's monthly earnings in 23 out of the capital's 33 boroughs.
Shelter said the "rent trap" in the private sector leaves families unable to save towards buying a home and urged London's mayor to intervene.
Mayor Boris Johnson said: "I think it's very important that we expand the supply available."
The report comes after the mayor put out a series of proposals in December to "empower tenants and landlords" in the private rental sector.
Shelter's report, based on an online study by YouGov of 1,397 adults in London in February 2012, found up to half (49%) of the people surveyed said they received "poor or very poor value for money from renting, from letting agents or private landlords".
A third of families also worried about their contract ending before they are able to move out.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: "The news that renting in the capital is unaffordable isn't a surprise to the families across London who are stuck in the rent trap, unable to save anything towards a home of their own because they are paying out so much each month in rent.
"But the fact that rental costs in most areas of London are eating up more than half of family incomes should stop us in our tracks.
"Rising rents, the constant threat of eviction, and hidden fees are all par for the course in London's frantic rental market."
Mr Johnson said: "I think it's very important that we expand the supply available... we need more on the market altogether.
"What I think is less persuasive is the case for some sort of legislation about renting and prices. The difficulty with that we think is it would tend to drive them (landlords) out of the market."
The mayor's plans include getting funding from the government's Â£200m equity fund for the construction of new homes.
Manor want former grand prix driver Alexander Wurz to be their team principal and have named ex-McLaren man Dave Ryan as racing director.
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Up to 59% of a typical London family's income is spent on rents, a study by housing charity Shelter has revealed.