“If you are the manager of Manchester United you cannot say you are not going to fight for the Premier League or the Champions League. You have to say, ‘Maybe we don’t have the potential, but we will try.’ You have to try! If Ten Hag listen to Ruud van Nistelrooy… maybe he could help him. Ruud knows the club and the club should listen to the guys who were there before. People like Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Sir Alex Ferguson. You can’t, you can’t rebuild a club without knowing it first.” This is what he said Cristiano Ronaldo in a live broadcast with Rio Ferdinand a few days ago and obviously the Dutch coach did not remain silent.
Asked about the matter at a press conference, the former Ajax coach said: “Everyone has the right to express their opinion, but Ronaldo is in Saudi Arabia, very far from Manchester. We are still in a transition period, but there are no excuses: we have to win every game, I know that. The team knows that and it doesn’t matter who is available. We will focus on each game and approach the game with a winning mentality.”