"Bet Ten Hag £10,000" - Piers Morgan says Manchester United boss won't win PL or UCL with club after his response to Cristiano Ronaldo
English broadcaster Piers Morgan has taken a dig at Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag for his response to Cristiano Ronaldo’s remarks about the Dutchman. Morgan’s statement comes amid a turbulent period for Manchester United, punctuated by a series of high-profile disagreements involving their former star, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Erik ten Hag.
The conflict began when Ronaldo, in a recent appearance on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, criticized Ten Hag's leadership. The Portuguese icon believes the United manager should not publicly state that the club is incapable of competing for the Premier League or the UEFA Champions League, even if that may be true. Ronaldo said (via The Guardian):
“The coach, they say they cannot compete to win the league and Champions League. (As) Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the league or Champions League. 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.”
In response, Ten Hag dismissed Ronaldo’s comments, attributing them to the distance between Ronaldo, now playing in Saudi Arabia, and the day-to-day realities of Manchester United. Ten Hag said (via Sky Sports):
“He said that Manchester United can’t win the Premier League. He said this, if you read the article very well. He is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester. Everyone can have an opinion.”
Taking to his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Piers Morgan, who is a huge Ronaldo fan, wrote:
''Ronaldo won 3 Premier League trophies and a Champions League trophy at United. I’ll bet Ten Hag £10,000 to charity he never wins either at United."
Two years ago, Cristiano Ronaldo lambasted Manchester United and Ten Hag in an explosive interview with Piers Morgan. The interview led to his contract with the Red Devils being terminated.
Cristiano Ronaldo believes Manchester United former player Ruud van Nistelrooy will help in rebuilding the club
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo believes former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy can help bring an upturn in the club's fortunes. Van Nistelrooy was appointed as the Red Devils' new assistant manager in June.
Ronaldo believes his presence in the managerial team of the club can provide a significant boost if Ten Hag listens to him.
Cristiano Ronaldo said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast (via The National):
"If Ten Hag listen to Ruud, maybe he can. I think it can help a lot because he knows 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 cannot, you cannot rebuild a club without knowledge. Not guys who work in office. They understand. I understand, I understand a lot of football because I see football on the television every day. No, this is not, doesn't work like that. The people who understand the football, it was, 99 per cent is the people who was there in the dressing room, who was player, who was the most successful coaches in the world."