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Cristiano Ronaldo has slammed Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag for claiming that the club is not in a position to challenge for the Premier League and the Champions League.
Ronaldo and Ten Hag bitterly fell out in late 2022, the culmination of which was an explosive interview the five-time Ballon d’Or winner granted to British broadcaster Piers Morgan.
In the interview, Ronaldo accused Ten Hag of disrespecting him and trying to force him out of United. In addition to taking a swipe at the manager, Ronaldo also criticised his teammates and the decision-makers at Old Trafford.
The result of his controversial sit-down with Morgan was that United terminated the Portugal captain’s contract. He ended up joining Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr just a few days later.
Last week, Ronaldo seemed to take a subtle dig at Ten Hag as he claimed that only a few coaches “behaved badly” towards him during the course of his extremely successful and trophy-laden career.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s Five YouTube channel, Ronaldo has now blasted Ten Hag for his claim that United are a long way from challenging for the Premier League and Champions League – a statement the Dutchman made two months ago.
Ronaldo told Ferdinand, “The coach … he says they [United] cannot compete to win the league and Champions League. [As] Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the league or Champions League. You have to say, ‘Listen, maybe we don’t have that potential, but I cannot say that. We’re going to try.’ You have to try.”
The 39-year-old explained that United have a better chance of finishing higher in the Premier League this season due to Ruud van Nistelrooy’s presence. Van Nistelrooy was added to Ten Hag’s backroom staff in the summer.
“If Ten Hag listens to Ruud, maybe he can. I think it can help a lot because he knows the club and the club should listen the guys who were there.”
“You [Ferdinand] or Roy Keane or Paul Scholes or Gary Neville, whatever, Sir Alex Ferguson. You cannot rebuild a club without knowledge. Not guys who work in [the] office. ‘I understand a lot of football because I see football in the television every day.’ No, this is not — [it] doesn’t work like that.”
“The people who understand the football … 99 per cent is the people who were there in the dressing room, who were players, who were the most successful coaches in the world. [Pep] Guardiola, Ferguson, they were former players, they were in the dressing room. They understand. They know how to deal with the players. It’s the people who understand these things.”
“So I believe that Ruud is going to help because he was inside the club. He knows the club. He knows the fans. If the coach listens to him, I think they can improve the club a little bit.”
Ronaldo emphasised that despite the messy way in which his second spell at United came to an end, he still loves the club and wishes the Reds all the best for the future.
The striker remarked that he is happy because there are some changes currently going on including investment in the training ground.
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