PA Media/DPA
London
Cristiano Ronaldo has intimated the attitude of Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is too negative.
The Portugal star fell out with Ten Hag before his second spell at Old Trafford ended in 2022.
Ronaldo, who plays for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, believes his former club need to “rebuild from the bottom” but should not rule out winning major trophies in the meantime.
Ten Hag has said he is “quite confident” of claiming further silverware this campaign after lifting the League Cup and FA Cup during the past two seasons.
But the Dutchman has also regularly downplayed the extent of what can currently be achieved, saying in July his team are a “long way away” from being ready to win the Premier League.
“Manchester, they need to rebuild everything, in my opinion,” Ronaldo said in an episode of the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcastdue to be released on Thursday.
“The coach, they say they cannot compete to win the league and Champions League. 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.”
Jim Ratcliffe in February bought a 27.7% stake in United, who have not won the Premier League title since the departure of Alex Ferguson in 2013.
Despite upsetting Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May, the club endured their worst Premier League campaign last term, finishing eighth on 60 points.
The 20-time English champions began the new season with a 1-0 win over Fulham before suffering back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Liverpool ahead of the international break.
“This club needs time to rebuild because it’s still one of the best clubs in the world, but they need to change,” Ronaldo said.
“They understand that. This is the only way. This is why they show, they start to change again, the structure of the club, the president, the infrastructures and everything.”
