Erik ten Hag has hit back at criticism from Cristiano Ronaldo that he lacks ambition, and suggested the former Manchester United star is out of touch with the situation at Old Trafford because he plays in Saudi Arabia.

Ronaldo, who left two years ago and joined Al-Nassr after a bombshell interview criticising Ten Hag and the club, reignited his war of words with the Dutchman this week by saying no United boss should admit his team cannot win the Premier League.

But Ten Hag claimed that Ronaldo made similar comments about United’s prospects in the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, and made a pointed reference to the fact the 39-year-old now plays in the Saudi Pro League club.

‘He said that, that Manchester United can’t win the Premier League,’ said Ten Hag. ‘He said this if you read the article very well. He is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester, so everyone can have an opinion and is entitled to have an opinion. It is okay.’

Ten Hag has had a difficult start to the season, losing two of his first three games ahead of tomorrow’s (sat) lunchtime clash at Southampton. United haven’t lost three Premier League games in a row since 2015 under Louis van Gaal.

Erik ten Hag has responded to Cristiano Ronaldo’s criticism of his stint at Manchester United

Ronaldo left United in November 2022 following an acrimonious fall-out with the Dutchman

Speaking in a blockbuster interview to Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldo criticised Ten Hag’s attitude

Ten Hag pointed to a number of factors he believes have caused the slow start, while warning that there can never be any excuses for failure at Old Trafford.

‘We will see where we are in May next year,’ he added. ‘It is very early in the season and it is about winning trophies, being as high as possible in the league and doing everything to win every game.’

Asked about the outside noise amid renewed speculation over his future, he added: ‘It doesn’t impact me. I know in the process where we are and what we have to do.

‘I have said before we are still in a transition period and we have to integrate a lot of young players in the team. We still have to deal with injuries and bring players back into the team.

‘Before anyone thinks about excuses, no, 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 every game and approach it with the mind-set that we have to win.n conversation with Ferdinand, Ronaldo had lashed out at what he perceived to be Ten Hag’s lack of ambition.

The head coach has previously defended his record winning trophies in Manchester, but the striker found fault in his more defensive comments surrounding Europe’s top flight.

‘The coach, they say they cannot compete to win the League and Champions League,’ Ronaldo said.

‘(As) 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.’

Ronaldo said the appointment of his former team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy was positive

Ronaldo claimed that having former players back on the coaching staff is key for success

Since Ten Hag took over, United have finished third and eighth in the Premier League, although they have won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in that time, with the Dutchman regularly pointing to his trophy record in English football.

However, things have been far from plain-sailing, with last season’s finish United’s lowest in the Premier League era, while they also crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage.

There was significant speculation over Ten Hag’s future in the summer before the INEOS-led footballing structure decided to stick with him.

He was then backed with reinforcements in the transfer market and also within his coaching staff, which included the arrival former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

And Ronaldo felt that the appointment of the Dutchman – who scored 150 goals for the club in 219 games – was a step in the right direction, but he still offered a thinly-veiled dig at Ten Hag in the process.

‘If Ten Hag listen to Ruud, maybe he can (help himself),’ he explained. ‘I think it can help a lot because he knows the club and the club should listen (to) the guys who were there.

‘You [Rio] or Roy Keane or Paul Scholes or Gary Neville, whatever, Sir Alex Ferguson. You cannot, you cannot rebuild a club without knowledge. Not guys who work in office. They understand.

‘The people who understand the football, it was, 99 per cent is the people who were there in the dressing room. They know how to deal with the players. It’s the people who understand these things.

‘So I believe that Ruud is going to help because he was inside the club. He knows the club. He knows the fans. If the coach listens to him, I think they can improve a little bit the club.’

Ronaldo claimed that Ten Hag must listen to Van Nistelrooy in order to help himself

Ronaldo also reaffirmed his thoughts that United have a long way to go to get back to the top

Despite the hints at positivity, Ronaldo reaffirmed his views that United – who have not won the Premier League in 11 years – still have a long way to go to get back to the top, with the 39-year-old hugely damning of the club when he conducted a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan shortly before leaving the club in 2022.

In the conversation with Morgan, Ronaldo had hit out at the lack of progress surrounding the club’s infrastructure, something that has improved since the appointments of Dan Ashworth, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox to the new football structure after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s partial takeover of the club last year.

He added: ‘This club needs time to rebuild because it’s still one of the best clubs in the world, but they need to change. 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. The owners of the club.

‘They’re investing in the training ground…So I’m happy because [things are changing]. I’m not happy the way it all happened, but in the same way, we cannot control some points of our life sometimes, but it’s done, already done.’