Erik ten Hag has revealed he felt “very embarrassed and disappointed” after Manchester United failed to keep a promise not to sell a key player during his time at the club.
The Dutchman, who was sacked in October 2024, also backed current head coach Michael Carrick to remain in post in a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic.
Now technical director of FC Twente, his boyhood team, Ten Hag appeared to have no hard feelings about his time at Old Trafford, telling the outlet he had “such wonderful memories”.
But he was critical of the leadership since Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover in late 2023, with the Ineos era failing to bring the club back to its glory days. He said: “The takeover process brought a lot of noise, uncertainty with the people, and disruptions. It was difficult to work, that’s clear. It was very complicated.”
The Dutchman nearly lost his job shortly before the FA Cup final the following summer but the 2-1 victory over Manchester City gave him a lifeline, with a one-year extension in his contract triggered two weeks after.
He said that during crisis talks before the extension was agreed, “They promised me loyalty, they promised me backing, they promised communication, that we get aligned. We spoke about the issues. But the promises, they didn’t keep.”
“That’s why I got disappointed. In Ibiza [during talks], we agreed. I said, ‘No selling Scott McTominay’. We would go aligned in the transfer window. I make an argument, a reason: we don’t have scoring abilities. Scott brings scoring abilities and great mentality. He has United in all his veins. So when they bring up the subject, ‘No’. And in the end they sold him. I got, of course, very embarrassed and disappointed.”
McTominay was sold to Napoli that summer for £25.7m and has flourished there, rapidly establishing himself as a key figure in the squad which won the Serie A title in his first year at the club. United bought Manuel Ugarte with the proceeds from the Scot’s sale.
Ten Hag also said there were issues regarding the exact nature of his role, foreshadowing Ruben Amorim’s explosive outburst over being the manager of United rather than the head coach, despite head coach being his formal title.
Ten Hag said: “After the first meeting (at Carrington), [Ratcliffe] started talking about the structure in the football club, how the manager should be head coach. I said, ‘OK, let’s discuss, but my contract is different’. I never heard anything.
“I always want to cooperate in a club — you can’t do this on your own. You need to find a strategy about philosophy, game model, about team profile, individual profiles. That is what I was used to, but with them there was no communication.”
He said dismissing the under-pressure Carrick after a dismal start to the season was “100% not the solution” and put more of the onus on the wider leadership at the club, saying: “The leadership, you need their competence, you need the right strategy. What is your identity? What are the work methods? You need the right structures and quality people. Then you need time.”