Cristiano Ronaldo reignites Erik ten Hag feud: Manchester United managers must target title

Cristiano Ronaldo looks disgruntled
Cristiano Ronaldo has had another pop at Erik ten Hag - Ian Hodgson/AFP via Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo has reignited his war of words with Erik ten Hag by telling the Manchester United manager he sent out the wrong message when he said the club were a “long way” from being able to win the Premier League and Champions League.

The five-time World Player of the Year also says Ruud van Nistelrooy would improve United if Ten Hag is prepared to listen to his new assistant manager, but insists the club needs “rebuilding from the bottom” if it is to recapture former glories.

Ronaldo claimed he had “no respect” for Ten Hag during a bombshell interview in November 2022 that ultimately led to his Old Trafford exit after a stormy second spell at the club. The Portuguese superstar said he felt “betrayed”.

Cristiano Ronaldo listens to instructions from Erik ten Hag during a game
Ronaldo’s second spell at United ended accrimoniously - Adrian Dennis/AFP

The former United striker has launched a fresh assault on Ten Hag – on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast – insisting the Dutchman erred when he said the club were “really a long way away” from winning the title or Champions League during an interview with Dutch channel AD Sportwereld in July.

“The coach … they say they cannot compete to win the League and Champions League,” Ronaldo 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.”

United exercised an option to extend Ten Hag’s contract 12 months to June 2026 this summer, despite initially holding talks with half-a-dozen managers as they considered replacing the Dutchman. The manager’s future has been thrust into the spotlight after United lost two of their opening three games, including a 3-0 thumping by bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag’s fellow DutchmenVan Nistelrooy and Rene Hake have been recruited as assistants by the United hierarchy because they felt the manager’s backroom team needed a shake-up.

Ronaldo believes his former United team-mate, Van Nistelrooy, can help improve the team’s outlook, provided Ten Hag takes his advice on board. He also believes that the club should seek the assistance of more former players.

Ruud van Nistelrooy during Manchester United training
Ruud van Nistelrooy (right) has been brought in as one of Erik ten Hag’s new assistants - Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images

Asked whether Van Nistelrooy would make a difference, Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr, said: “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 to the guys who were there.

“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 a player 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.”

In the unauthorised interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo said he had been shocked upon his return to Old Trafford in 2021 to find there had been “zero progress” in terms of the training facilities since he left the club 12 years earlier and that “nothing had changed”.

Manchester United's Carrington training ground
Ronaldo described Carrington as having ‘stopped in time’ - Getty Images/John Peters

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has ordered a £50 million revamp of United’s Carrington training base and installed a new football hierarchy since becoming a co-owner of the Old Trafford club in February.

What the new-look Carrington will look like
Carrington will have a complete refurbish, as seen in this image - Manchester United

“To prove that I’m right or wrong, this is not my issue anymore,” he said. “I say what I have to say and for me it’s done. But to be honest with you, what I wish for Manchester, it’s what I wish for me. The best they can make – again the best team they can and I love that club, you know, I’m not, I’m not that kind of guy that forgot the past.

“But as I told you, Manchester, they need to rebuild everything, in my opinion. This club needs time to rebuild because it’s still one of the best clubs in the world, but they need to change. They understand that. This is the only way.

“They start to change again, the structure of the club, the president, the infrastructures and everything. The owners of the club. They’re investing in the training ground. So I’m happy because [things are changing].

“I’m not happy the way it all happened, but in the same way, we cannot control some points of our life sometimes, but it’s done, already done.

“I believe that the future will be bright. I believe, but they don’t depend only on the talents. It’s more than that. It’s all club, all, not only players, club, everything as a unit, united.

“They have to rebuild from the bottom. If not, they cannot compete. It will be impossible. They can do good things, yes, they can win Carabao [Cup], 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 it will be difficult.”

Listen to the full Rio Meets Cristiano interview on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. RioFerdinandPresents.com