Erik ten Hag responds to Benni McCarthy’s Cristiano Ronaldo claim with defiant message

Erik ten Hag has responded to the claims his former coach, Benni McCarthy, made surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo during his second spell at Manchester United.

When Erik ten Hag first joined Manchester United, one of the immediate questions on most people’s lips was what he would do about veteran striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

The club legend had re-signed for the Old Trafford side a season before and scored 24 goals across all competitions, although the side did poorly overall, finishing sixth in the Premier League table.

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Soon after Ten Hag joined, it was clear he did not have any major plans for Cristiano Ronaldo, and within months, the Portuguese international had his contract terminated after claiming in an unsanctioned interview that United did not have the right coach to succeed as a club.

He then signed for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr after the Qatar World Cup.

Speaking recently, former United coach Benni McCarthy, who worked under Erik ten Hag for just shy of two seasons, explained he felt the Dutch manager “wasted” a great opportunity when he had Ronaldo in the side.

“It was inevitable,” McCarthy said when asked about Ronaldo’s exit. “In the end he left the club and chose Al Nassr and is proving to everyone that he can still score goals.

“If we work as a team and then let Cristiano do what he needs to do in his position, because he is the best in the world at it, that is ideal.

“I think Manchester United wasted a great opportunity to use Cristiano in the right way. But I was not the head coach, and I could not be the one to make those decisions.”

Ten Hag, however, has since explained that he does not feel the same way, hinting that Ronaldo needed to go because of his age. At the time Ten Hag joined, Ronaldo was 37 years of age.

“For a long period, we are in transition at Manchester United,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports. “From the moment I came in, we knew we had to change. We had to replace some older players.

“Our choice was to bring young players in and that takes time to get the messages on board, to get a game model on board and to introduce a new culture. That takes time.

“In the meantime, you have to win and I think we have proven in the last two years that we win.

“I’ve proven in my career that always I will win. The last six years I have eight trophies.”

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