Kevin-Prince Boateng claims Erik ten Hag is not good enough to manage Manchester United and accuses him of ‘disrespecting’ Cristiano Ronaldo after ‘just kicking him out of Old Trafford’

Kevin-Price Boateng has taken aim at Erik ten Hag, claiming he is not good enough to manage Manchester United and accusing him of disrespecting Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese star left Old Trafford last December after criticizing both the club and Ten Hag in an interview with Piers Morgan after losing his regular place in the squad.

United finished third in the Premier League and won the Carabao Cup after his departure, while Ronaldo now plays football in Saudi Arabia.

But Ten Hag’s side have made a poor start to the new season, losing four of their opening seven Premier League games and falling mid-table.

And former Barcelona, ​​AC Milan and Tottenham player Boateng has claimed Ten Hag is not up to the job.

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‘I think he should go. From what I see, there is no energy,” he said at Ferdinand’s Rio Atmosphere with Five show.

‘What he did to Ronaldo and all that stuff, I don’t think he’s at the level to coach Manchester United.

‘The team is not the best, you have to be honest. They have some good players, but they are not the best. But there is still no fire.

‘When you come to Old Trafford there is no pace, no one gets angry, no one puts passion and fire into it. And if my players don’t do that, I have to do that as a coach.’

Pressed by Ferdinand over his Ronaldo comments, Boateng said: ‘He was the top scorer and he just kicked him out. He just went against the best player on the team, you don’t do that.

‘You have to give him respect. There are ways to let a player go and I think he chose the wrong path.’

United were poor in the 1-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday and will need to regain some momentum when they host Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

They started their group stage with a 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich, a scoreline that was flattering to say the least.

Ronaldo was United’s leading goalscorer during his first season in 2021/22, but Ten Hag saw no place for the experienced striker in his plans.

He was dropped after the disastrous 4-0 defeat at Brentford two games into last season and never regained his place. He caused trouble by refusing to come on and storming through the tunnel during a match with Tottenham.

After Ronaldo claimed United had ‘betrayed’ him during his interview with Morgan, there was no turning back and he left by mutual consent shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile, Boateng revealed he was ‘forced’ to lie and say Lionel Messi was the best player in the world – ahead of Ronaldo – when he played for Barcelona.