Cristiano Ronaldo has revived his feud with Erik ten Hag by attacking the Manchester United manager for what he sees as a lack of ambition.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner said United need to “rebuild everything” but hit back at Ten Hag for his summer comments that they are a “long way” from winning the Premier League or the Champions League.
Ronaldo’s second spell at Old Trafford was ended in 2022 when his contract was terminated following an explosive and unauthorised interview in which he said he felt “betrayed” by United and had “no respect” for Ten Hag.
And he latched on to Ten Hag’s July assertion that United, who finished eighth last season, are not close to becoming champions.
He told his former teammate Rio Ferdinand, for the latter’s podcast: “The coach … they say they cannot compete to win the [Premier] League and Champions League. [If you are] 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.”
But Ronaldo believes the problems at United are deep-rooted and feels they need to build from the bottom up. United extended Ten Hag’s contract until 2026 in the summer and Ronaldo, who helped them win the Champions League in 2008 in his first spell at Old Trafford, approves of some of the change new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has brought.
He added: “To prove that I’m right or wrong, this is not my issue anymore. 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.
“This is why they show – 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.”
Another of Ronaldo’s old teammates, Ruud van Nistelrooy, was added to the coaching staff in the summer and the Portuguese, who now plays for Al-Nassr, believes Ten Hag should follow the former striker’s advice.
He added: “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.”