Noussair Mazraoui has explained why Erik ten Hag’s previous assessment of the pressure at Manchester United is correct.
Ruben Amorim is looking to improve the performances at Manchester United after a difficult start to his life in the Old Trafford hot-seat.
The Portuguese boss entered midway through last season after Erik ten Hag was sacked and has struggled to turn things around since then.
He will be hoping that new signings such as Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha can help turn a corner, while the existing talent at the club also need to take responsibility.
Noussair Mazraoui was injured at the start of this season but the defender will be an important player going forward after he reminded fans of his quality off the bench against Burnley last week.
Mazraoui explains why Ten Hag’s assessment of United was correct
Mazraoui, 27, joined United last summer and had an impressive debut campaign at the club despite the team’s overall difficulties. For less than £15 million, he is viewed as one of United’s best value-for-money signings in a long time.
While he has played at top clubs like Ajax and Bayern Munich, the defender feels like United is a different level of attention and pressure.
“Everybody knows Manchester United. Everybody sees them. Everybody likes to talk a lot about them in every kind of way, there’s a lot of attention and focus on the club,” he told The National.
“That’s what you see and that’s what you feel inside the club. You feel that the pressure is on.”
When told that ex-boss Ten Hag had said that Ajax was ‘big’ but United is ‘global’, Mazraoui completely agreed with the point the Dutchman made.
“I totally agree with that,” he replied. “If you see it that way, pressure -wise, it’s the same. If you lose one game, two games, it’s crisis. It’s the same in Ajax.
“That’s a little bit like what I’m used to – it’s just 10 times bigger. I think the Premier League makes it even, you know, even more international, so it’s a story in India, the US, Africa.”
Mazraoui found Ten Hag departure difficult
Ten Hag signed Mazraoui after previously working with the defender at Ajax. Those type of signings have been highly scrutinised but this seems to be one of the more successful ones.
Mazraoui was close with the ex-manager but only got to work with him again for a few months before he was sacked and Amorim replaced him.
“Yeah, of course,” Mazraoui added when asked if it was difficult for him when Ten Hag was sacked. “Because he was also a reason I came to the club. You come to a club because for the club itself, but also for the manager.
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“I worked some good years with him at Ajax, so that’s also one of the reasons I came here. And then if he’s gone after two or three months, that’s never nice, because you feel also responsible for that. Because if the players perform, the manager stays, it’s that simple.”
United fans will be happy to see Mazraoui back on the pitch consistently in the coming months, with the Moroccan likely to come into the back three.
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