Erik ten Hag dismisses Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United criticism

The United boss maintains the Portuguese superstar is out of touch and ‘far away’ from Manchester

Richard Jolly
Senior Football Correspondent
Thursday 12 September 2024 18:52 BST
Comments
Erik ten Hag said that Manchester United were ‘still in a transition period’
Erik ten Hag said that Manchester United were ‘still in a transition period’ (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Erik ten Hag shrugged off criticism from Cristiano Ronaldo by saying that the Portuguese star is far away from Manchester and implying he is out of touch with events at his old club.

Ronaldo, whose contract at Old Trafford was terminated in 2022 after falling out with Ten Hag, had revived his feud with the Dutchman in an interview with Rio Ferdinand in which he took issue with the manager’s summer comments that Manchester United are a “long way” from winning the Premier and Champions Leagues.

But while Ten Hag insisted Ronaldo was allowed to have his view, he argued the Portuguese, who claimed United needed to rebuild from the bottom up, was dismissing United’s chances.

“No, he said that, that Manchester United can’t win the Premier League, if you read the article very well,” he said. “He is far away in Saudi [Arabia], far away from Manchester. Everyone can have an opinion and is entitled to an opinion, it is OK.”

United are only 14th in the table after losing their last two games and will still be without the injured Rasmus Hojlund and Luke Shaw for Saturday’s trip to Southampton, though Manuel Ugarte could make his debut after his deadline-day arrival.

Ten Hag nevertheless feels his side are on the right track and said that injuries or being in transition is never an excuse for United if they fail to win.

He explained: “It is very early in the season and it is about winning trophies, being as high as possible in the league, do everything to win every game and then we will see in May where we are in the league.

Erik ten Hag shakes hands with his team following their defeat to Brighton
Erik ten Hag shakes hands with his team following their defeat to Brighton (Getty)

“I know in the process where we are. And what we have to do. Where we are going, I have said before we are still in a transition period, we have to integrate a lot of young players in the team. We still have to deal with injuries and bring players back into the team.

“Before anyone thinks about excuses, no, we have to win every game. I know that. The team knows that and it doesn’t matter who is available. We will focus on every game and approach it with the mindset that we have to win.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in