Erik ten Hag has been blasted for his treatment of Cristiano Ronaldo (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
In a shocking outburst, the contentious broadcaster took aim at the Manchester United manager and claimed responsibility for the injuries to Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.
In an astounding outburst against the Manchester United boss, Piers Morgan called Erik ten Hag a “complete idiot”.
The presenter launched a lengthy diatribe against the Dutchman, blaming him for the way he treated Cristiano Ronaldo, which he claims was the reason the Portuguese striker decided to leave United after two stints at the team. The 54-year-old, according to Morgan, cannot “handle big players.”
Citing players like Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho by name, Morgan criticised Ten Hag’s man-management skills and said he wasted them. He went so far as to mock the United manager for using “gibberish” in his remarks following United’s most recent loss to Liverpool.
Morgan started his irrational digression on talkSPORT, where he vented his emotions to Ally McCoist and Gabby Agbonlahor, by praising Ronaldo for his recent global stage efforts. But it quickly turned into a verbal assault during which he said that United has “no hope” of finishing in the top four under their present manager.
Morgan praised Ronaldo for his performance against Scotland in the Nations League on Sunday night, saying the 39-year-old is still the best goal scorer in international football. Ronaldo scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute of the 2-1 triumph. But Morgan launched an attack when Agbonlahor questioned why Ten Hag had let Ronaldo travel to Saudi Arabia.
Ten Hag is a total moron. I apologise; since he arrived there (United), he has been,” he remarked. Morgan gloweredly said, “He talks complete gibberish, he’s now banging on about Harry Potter or something.” Morgan was referring to Ten Hag’s remarks made during United’s 3-0 loss to archrivals Liverpool, in which the manager stated he can’t make United’s problems disappear like magic.
After having a tense encounter with Ronaldo in November 2022, the former judge of Britain’s Got Talent went on to say, “Ten Hag is everything Ronaldo told me he was in that interview that led to him leaving United.” The former host of Good Morning Britain repeatedly attacked McCoist and Agbonlahor with such strange attacks that they were left stunned and sometimes laughing.
You you aware of Ten Hag’s issue? “He reminds me of that tyrannical elementary school teacher who can’t handle exceptionally gifted students,” he remarked. “You look at the players he hasn’t been able to control at United: Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Cristiano Ronaldo are all elite players. He can manage the underdogs and the players he brings in from Ajax who have never played on the biggest platform in the world, but he is incompetent with the elite.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, as it’s a miracle, but United have got worse than they were last season and there are two hopes for United of getting the top four this season – no hope and Bob Hope, and Bob Hope’s been dead about 20 years.”
Ronaldo severed his relationship with United in that now-famous interview with Morgan, even though he had only left the team a year before. During the talk, the former Real Madrid player criticised United’s development as a team and said Ten Hag lacked “respect” for him.
Morgan, who has supported Ronaldo on multiple times since the meeting, continued by saying that United would be in a far more fortunate situation than they are now if they had held onto the forward. “As he’s demonstrating for Portugal, he would have been immeasurably better than any of the strikers Manchester United has,” he continued. The man is the best player who has ever played the game and the best player that will play it in the future.”
Three games into the new season, Ten Hag—who signed a new contract in the face of intense speculation about his future—finds himself in a precarious situation after two losses and one victory. On Saturday, September 14, United will play Southampton at St. Mary’s in the Premier League.
