Erik ten Hag brushed off Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest criticism, after the Manchester United icon accused the Dutch coach of lacking ambition.
The two had a rocky relationship during Ronaldo’s second spell at Old Trafford, which ended with the termination of his contract.
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There seems to be lingering tension between them, as Ronaldo reignited their feud in an interview with Rio Ferdinand, criticizing Ten Hag for dismissing United’s Premier League title hopes.
In response, Ten Hag remained firm, emphasizing that it was Ronaldo, not him, who had given up on the team’s title chances.
‘He said Manchester United can’t win the Premier League. He said it if you read it well,’ Ten Hag said at his press conference ahead of his side’s trip to Southampton.
‘He is far away in Saudi [Arabia], far away from Manchester. Everyone can have and is entitled to have an opinion, it is okay. [It] doesn’t impact me, I know in the process where we are, where we’re going.’
Speaking to former teammate Ferdinand, Ronaldo said Ten Hag’s mentality is letting the United players down.
‘Manchester, they need to rebuild everything, in my opinion. The coach, they say they cannot compete to win the League and Champions League,’ he said.
‘Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the League or Champions League. You have to be, to mentally 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, though, did later concede that Man United would have little chance of mounting a league title charge this season.
‘They can do good things, yes, they can win Carabao, yeah, but I mean, Champions League or Europa League or Premier League, difficult, in my opinion. And I wish that I’m wrong, I wish, but will be difficult,’ Ronaldo said.
Ten Hag returns from the international break with pressure mounting after an underwhelming start to the campaign.
But the 54-year-old coach has called for patience and is confident his team will hit their stride soon.
‘We are still in a transition process, we have to integrate a lot of young players. We still have to deal with injuries and bring players back into the team,’ he added.
‘Before anyone thinks about excuses, no, we have to win every game. I know that. The team knows this. We will focus on every game and have in every game the mindset we have to win.
‘We will see where we are in May next year, it is very early in the season and it is about winning trophies, be 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.’
