Erik ten Hag has issued a defiant response to Cristiano Ronaldo after he claimed Manchester United need a rebuild.
Portuguese legend Ronaldo played for the Premier League giants across two stints, the second of which ended unceremoniously at the end of 2022.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner conducted a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan in which he criticised Ten Hag and the Glazer family.
Almost two years on from his comments, Ronaldo has now revealed his belief that United need to ‘rebuild everything’ to return to their former glory.
Ten Hag has since responded to the forward, but also wished to stress that Ronaldo’s comments were in relation to winning the Premier League.
“He said that Manchester United can’t win the Premier League. No, he said this if you read the article very well,” Ten Hag said in his press conference ahead of United’s weekend trip to Southampton, live on talkSPORT.
“He is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester. Everyone can have and is entitled to have an opinion, it is okay.”
Ten Hag has led United to two trophies in as many seasons at the club, first winning the Carabao Cup last year before lifting the FA Cup in May.
Following the latter, the Dutchman agreed to extend his contract at Old Trafford until 2026 despite speculation he would leave.
Speaking at the end of August, he said he’s confident that United will continue to win silverware: “In the last two years we won, behind [Manchester] City, the most trophies in English football.
“That is the reality. They are the facts. This year we want to win. We want to win trophies. I am quite confident we will do that.”
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However, United have endured another difficult start to the season as they have won just one of three Premier League matches.
Ten Hag’s side narrowly beat Fulham 1-0 on the opening weekend before falling to a late 2-1 defeat on the road at Brighton.
Bitter rivals Liverpool then beat them 3-0 at Old Trafford before the international break, with United sitting 14th in the table.
Speaking on whether or not the club are on the right track, Ten Hag added: “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.”
Along with new signings that include Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte, Ten Hag has also been boosted by the arrival of United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy onto his coaching team.
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Ronaldo played alongside the striker on 91 occasions for the club and believes that he can help aid their rise back to the top of English and European football
“If Ten Hag listens to Ruud, maybe he can [help improve the club]. I think it can help a lot because he knows the club and the club should listen to the guys who were there.
“You [Rio 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 office. They understand.
“I understand a lot of football because I see football in the television every day. The people who understand football, it was, 99 per cent of the people who were there in the dressing room, who were players, who were the most successful coaches in the world.
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[Pep] Guardiola, Ferguson, they were players before, 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 a little bit the club.”
