Man Utd star likes Ronaldo’s rant and risks Ten Hag’s wrath

Robin Bairner

• 12 Sept 2024 06:51 BST
• 3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo sent shockwaves through Manchester United on Wednesday when he hit out at current manager Erik ten Hag in a high-profile interview with Rio Ferdinand, but one current member of the Old Trafford squad may have landed themselves in trouble after ‘liking’ it.

Alejandro Garnacho was caught liking a post on Instagram in which Ronaldo criticised the Man Utd manager.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner slammed Ten Hag for having a loser’s mentality as the fallout from his ugly exit at Old Trafford continues.

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Fabrizio Romano, the transfer news reporter, had re-posted the comments on social media, and Garnacho gave these a ‘like’.

The winger subsequently reversed this action, suggesting that he either did it accidentally or didn’t realise his action would be made public.

Garnacho has history for this type of behaviour. Last season, he ‘liked’ a number of posts criticising Ten Hag after he was replaced during a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

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"Alejandro is a young player and has to learn a lot," the manager said.

"He apologised for it and after that, we move on."

Garnacho played 90 minutes in the subsequent fixture, but it remains to be seen if Ten Hag is so lenient after a second offence.

What did Ronaldo say about Ten Hag?

Ronaldo spoke extensively about Ten Hag, but it was the Portuguese’s criticism of the Dutchman saying that Man Utd were not capable of winning the Champions League that Garnacho gave a heart.

“Man United's coach cannot say they can’t compete to win the Premier League and the Champions League every year,” Ronaldo said.

“This is Man United! You have to be there, 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.

“This is why Man United need to rebuild. If Ten Hag listens to Ruud van Nistelrooy… maybe he can help. He knows the club and the club should listen to the guys who were there, as this is really important.

“Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Sir Alex Ferguson… you need advice from these people.

“You cannot rebuild a club without knowledge."