Cristiano Ronaldo launches fresh attack on Erik ten Hag, saying he said things ‘you can’t say’ as Man United manager… as he tells them to ‘rebuild from the bottom’ with a sharp dig at Ruud van Nistelrooy

Cristiano Ronaldo has criticised Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag for his attitude since taking over the club.

Ronaldo – who gave his views in a controversial interview with Rio Ferdinand to be published tomorrow – is a legend at Old Trafford, having scored 145 goals in 326 games over two spells and won nine trophies with the club.

However, his second spell ended in a conflict with Ten Hag, after which Ronaldo terminated his contract, subsequently attacking the Dutchman and saying he felt ‘betrayed’ by him.

And on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, the Al-Nassr star once again hit out at Ten Hag and was highly critical of his behaviour as United manager.

“Like I told you, Manchester, they need to rebuild everything, in my opinion,” he said.

Cristiano Ronaldo has launched a fresh attack on Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag

Ronaldo left United in November 2022 after a heated row with the Dutchman

In a controversial interview with Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldo criticized Ten Hag’s attitude

‘The coach says they can’t compete to win the league and the Champions League.

‘As a Manchester United manager you can’t say you’re not going to fight to win the league or the Champions League.

“You have to mentally say, listen, maybe we don’t have that potential, but I can’t say that. We’re going to try. You have to try.”

Since Ten Hag took charge, United have finished third and eighth in the Premier League, although they have won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup during that time. The Dutchman regularly refers to his string of trophies in English football.

However, things were far from smooth. Last season, United finished eighth, their worst result in the Premier League era, and were also knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage.

There was much speculation about Ten Hag’s future over the summer, before the football organisation led by INEOS decided to continue with him.

He subsequently received reinforcements on the transfer market and within his coaching staff, which also included former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Ronaldo felt the appointment of the Dutchman – who scored 150 goals for the club in 219 games – was a step in the right direction, but he still took a somewhat mysterious swipe at Ten Hag.

“If Ten Hag listens to Ruud, maybe he can (help himself),” he explained. “I think it can help a lot, because he knows that the club and the club should listen (to) the guys who were there.

Ronaldo said the appointment of his former teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy was positive

Ronaldo claimed that having former players back in the coaching staff is the key to success

‘You (Rio) or Roy Keane or Paul Scholes or Gary Neville, whatever, Sir Alex Ferguson. You can’t, you can’t rebuild a club without knowledge. Not the guys who work in the office. They understand.

‘The people who understand football, that was, 99 percent, are the people who were in the dressing room. They know how to deal with the players. They are the people who understand these things.

“So I believe Ruud will 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 the club a little bit.”

Despite the positive noise, Ronaldo reiterated his view that United, who have not won the Premier League in 11 years, still have a long way to go to get back to the top. The 39-year-old was highly critical of the club during a shocking interview with Piers Morgan shortly before his departure in 2022.

Speaking to Morgan, Ronaldo criticised the lack of progress surrounding the club’s infrastructure, despite improvements being made since the appointments of Dan Ashworth, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox in the new football structure following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s partial takeover of the club last year.

Ronaldo claimed Ten Hag should listen to Van Nistelrooy to help himself

Ronaldo also confirmed his thoughts that United still have a long way to go to get back to the top

He added: ‘This club needs time to rebuild because it is still one of the best clubs in the world, but they have to change. They understand that. This is the only way.

‘That’s 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 are investing in the training ground… So I am happy because (things are changing). I am not happy with the way it all happened, but in the same way sometimes we can’t control some points in our lives, but it happened, already happened.”

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