Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag continued on his war of words with Cristiano Ronaldo after Marcus Rashford scored for Manchester United against Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, September 14, 2024.
The Dutchman has been in a bitter media row with Cristiano Ronaldo recently after the Portuguese said he (Ten Hag) can’t downplay Manchester United’s chances in competing for the Premier League or European silverware.
Speaking on his YouTube channel with former teammate and pundit Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldo insisted the winning mentality at Manchester United has long gone with Ten Hag’s pessimistic prediction of the club’s chances.
According to him, such wouldn’t have come from the manager of a club as Manchester United even if the club is on a rebuild.
“The coach, they say they cannot compete to win the League and Champions League,’ Ronaldo said.
‘(As) 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.”
Erik ten Hag snapped back at Ronaldo
Replying to Cristiano Ronaldo, Erik Ten Hag aimed a swipe at Cristiano Ronaldo for unnecessary remarks on the club’s chances while he was far away in Saudi Arabia.
“He said that, that Manchester United can’t win the Premier League. He said this if you read the article very well. He is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester, so everyone can have an opinion and is entitled to have an opinion. It is okay.’’
After Rashford’s goal against Southampton, Ten Hag doubled down on his war of words with Ronaldo. He made a satirical reference to one of Cristiano Ronaldo’s phrases, ‘opening a bottle of ketchup.’ Ronaldo had used the phrase to mean ‘once the first drop (a goal or trophy) comes out, everything (other goals and trophies) comes out.’
Ten Hag used the quote without mentioning the Al-Nassr forward to say Rashford will score more goals having opened a ‘bottle of ketchup.’
”For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming,” he said.
He particularly referred to Cristiano Ronaldo as he asserted his position when he said;
”Once a striker was talking about a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he added.
Obviously, Ten Hag’s reference of Cristiano Ronaldo’s phrase was a snap on the five-time Ballon d’Or winner after the recent media row.
The Dutchman indirectly took a swipe at the footballer by trying to make a case for the gradual improvement in the team as Rashford ended his goal deadlock.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Erik ten Hag infamous spat
The tense relationship between Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United’s legend – and Erik ten Hag is no surprise. Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia was more of an accidental transfer caused by his infamous fallout with the Dutchman.
He left the club following his explosive interview in which he blasted the Dutchman for his incompetence in handling United.
The interview marked the end of his spell with the club as he agreed to terminate his contract after that and join Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
Since the infamous fallout, Cristiano Ronaldo and Erik ten Hag have not been in each other’s good books, with the recent fallout showing there is no love lust between the duo.
Erik ten Hag took a breather from the pressure that was piling up on him with the win over Southampton. Before the game, he had recorded back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Liverpool.
With three years in the reigns as United manager, the Dutchman will come under more pressure to change the club’s dwindling misfortune or face the axe.
To former players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Ten Hag is not the right man to manage a club in United’s class. The 54-year-old seemed to get it right in his debut season in 2022. He qualified Man United for the Champions League and won the EFL Cup.
However, the 2023-24 season was a disappointing run despite ending with the FA Cup trophy.
