Ten Hag says Ronaldo 'entitled to his opinion'
Erik ten Hag responded to Cristiano Ronaldo's latest criticism, with his full focus on ensuring Manchester United return to winning ways.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has brushed aside Cristiano Ronaldo's latest comments as he continues to block out the criticism surrounding his tenure.
Ronaldo, who recently surpassed 900 career goals during the international break, returned to Old Trafford in 2021 for a second stint at the club he made his name at.
The Portugal international netted 27 goals in 55 appearances in all competitions across one and a half seasons but fell out of favour under Ten Hag before joining Al Nassr in December 2022.
During the 2021-2022 season, no one registered more goal contributions in the Premier League for United than Ronaldo (21, 18 goals and three assists), while he also produced an expected goals tally (xG) of 17.75, also the highest in the Red Devils squad.
Speaking to former United team-mate Rio Ferdinand on a podcast, Ronaldo said Ten Hag had been wrong to say in a pre-season interview that the club was "a long way away" from winning the Premier League.
When questioned about the veteran forward's comments, Ten Hag said: "No, he said this, if you read the article very well.
"He is entitled to his opinion. It's OK. He is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester."
United headed into the international break off the back of successive defeats in the Premier League, the latest coming in a 3-0 humbling against arch rival Liverpool.
The Red Devils have now lost as many as two of their first three league games in a season for the second time under the Dutchman's tenure (also 2022-2023).
They last lost three of their first four back in 1986-2087, when Ron Atkinson was sacked and replaced by Sir Alex Ferguson.
While United is unbeaten in its last 12 Premier League away games against the Saints, the encounter at St. Mary's seems a seismic one for Ten Hag's future at the club.
The two-week break since the Liverpool defeat has seen Ten Hag's future widely discussed, but the Dutchman insisted that the outside noise did not bother him.
"It doesn't impact me. I know where we are in the process and what we have to do and where we are going," Ten Hag said.
"I have said before we are still in a transition period.
"We have to integrate a lot of young players in the team and still have to deal with injuries and bring players back into the team.
"Before anyone thinks about excuses, no, we have to win every game. I know that. The team knows that. It doesn't matter who is available."
