Erik ten Hag snaps back at Cristiano Ronaldo with jibe about Saudi Arabia after the star launched another attack on the Man United boss in an explosive interview with Rio Ferdinand

Erik ten Hag has dismissed criticism from Cristiano Ronaldo that he has no ambition as Manchester United manager.

The former United star reignited the war of words with Ten Hag by saying no United manager should admit his team cannot win the Premier League or Champions League.

However, Ten Hag suggested that Ronaldo is unaware of the events at Old Trafford, where he plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, and claimed the Portuguese icon made similar comments about United’s prospects on a podcast hosted by Rio Ferdinand.

“He said Manchester United can’t win the Premier League,” Ten Hag said. “He said that if you read the article very carefully.

‘He’s far away in Saudi Arabia, far away from Manchester, so everyone is allowed to have an opinion and has the right to have an opinion, that’s okay.’

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

In conversation with Ferdinand, Ronaldo had criticized Ten Hag’s lack of ambition, which he experienced as such.

The head coach has previously defended his record number of trophies won in Manchester, but the striker has been criticised for his more defensive comments about Europe’s top division.

“The coach says they can’t compete to win the league and the Champions League,” Ronaldo said.

‘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 did not go smoothly. 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 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

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.

‘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.

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

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.

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 field… So I am happy because [things are changing]. I’m not happy with the way it all turned out, but in the same way sometimes we have no control over certain aspects of our lives, but it happened, it already happened.’