Ralf Rangnick has hit back at Louis van Gaal after the former Manchester United manager warned Erik ten Hag to steer well clear of the Premier League club.
The current Ajax manager has emerged as a leading contender to take over from interim manager Rangnick in the summer and was interviewed last month.
Van Gaal spent two tumultuous years at Old Trafford which culminated in him winning the FA Cup, but was sacked almost immediately afterwards and replaced by Jose Mourinho.
Speaking this week, the current Netherlands manager warned Ten Hag of the problems that might lie ahead should he choose the Red devils as his next destination.
‘I think Ten Hag is a great coach; I said that multiple times,’ Van Gaal said at a news conference Monday. ‘A great coach is good for Man United. But Man United is a commercial club. Those are difficult choices for a coach. As a coach, you should prefer a football club.’
At his press conference on Friday ahead of their game against Leicester City, Rangnick responded by claiming United have ‘a bright future ahead’ and reminded Van Gaal he was more than happy to join the club back in 2014.
He said: ‘Louis himself as an experienced coach signed a contract here some five or six years ago and he could have known that in advance if he had that opinion.
‘I think football worldwide and even more so in the English Premier League when any rich person or company can buy a club, as long as they pass the fit and proper person test, is a commercialised business, that’s for sure.
‘No matter which club in which city. What I can only tell you from the last four months is that this is a club with a big tradition with a close relationship with the supporters and to the whole city, region and area.
‘For me, it’s a great club and if the club draws the right conclusions on what’s happened in the last couple of years – yes, the last couple of years have not been as good as expected.
‘But if they draw the right conclusions I still see a very bright future for this club.’
