Man Utd & INEOS have listened to Cristiano Ronaldo over need for rebuild, says ex-Red Devils star

Ronaldo has been critical of his former club since his bitter departure in 2022. The Portugal superstar has said United need to “rebuild everything” if they want to win the biggest trophies the game has to offer once again. Ronaldo has also spoken disparagingly of manager Erik ten Hag and a perceived lack of ambition from the Dutchman.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  United have made significant changes this year following the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS as minority owners. Omar Berrada has arrived from Manchester City as CEO and Dan Ashworth has joined as sporting director from Newcastle. Ten Hag has also added former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy to his coaching staff, while a busy summer saw players such as Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Noussair Mazraoui, Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt arrive.

  • WHAT SAHA SAID

    Saha feels Ronaldo has been right with his criticism and that the club have listened to their former player. He told Casino Hawks: “Cristiano Ronaldo was right when he said that Manchester United needed to rebuild everything, he was right when he said it two years ago. I think part of the reason they have rebuilt everything is because of what he said in that interview, look at the training ground and talk of a new stadium, things have changed.

    “You can even look at Ruud van Nistelrooy coming in. These things do take time but it seemed that people at the club started to listen, they started to understand how fans were feeling. It’s only right that the club listened to people who were there in Sir Alex Ferguson’s era, that’s what fans want to get back, that feeling.

    “The club should be listening to people like Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Ruud van Nistelrooy, this club needs to again understand how to win things. What Cristiano and Rio mentioned is the way the club used to be and how the players need to get that confidence that we had, rebuilding the club around them will help.”

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    WHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD

    Manchester United are back in action on Sunday against Tottenham and will be aiming to get back to winning ways after a disappointing start to the season. The Red Devils take on Spurs off the back of draws against Crystal Palace in the Premier League and FC Twente in the Europa League.