Ten Hag fires back at Ronaldo's remarks: He's far away in Saudi Arabia

Erik ten Hag, manager of Manchester United, responded to recent criticism by the club's former superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, saying that the Portuguese striker doesn't know what he's talking about since he is "far away from Manchester."

In a podcast hosted by retired Manchester United great Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldo suggested that United rebuild everything. He also fired at Ten Hag for not being encouraging enough to his players.

"Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you're not going to fight to win the League or Champions League," Ronaldo said. "You have to be, to mentally say, listen, maybe we don't have that potential, but I cannot say that. We're going to try. You have to try."

Ten Hag didn't take Ronaldo's remarks well. "He said that; that Manchester United can't win the Premier League," the United boss replied. "He said this. If you read the article very well. He is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester so everyone can have an opinion and is entitled to have an opinion. It is okay."

With United having lost two of their first three Premier League games to start the 2024-25 season, Ten Hag has once again come under great pressure. Although he signed a contract extension until 2026, and has been backed by both club CEO Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth publicly, there is already speculation that he may be fired.

"It doesn't impact me. I know in the process where we are, where we're going. We're in the transition period, we have to integrate a lot of young players in the team," the Dutch manager said. "We have to bring the injuries back into the team. Before anyone thinks about excuses, we have to win every game, I know that. The team knows this. We will focus on every game and have the mindset we have to win."