Ten Hag slams ‘bad rules’ that ‘FORCED’ Man Utd into a mistake

Robin Bairner

19 Oct 2024 09:00 BST
2 min read

Erik ten Hag, Manchester United — © IMAGO

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has complained that “bad rules” forced the Old Trafford club into the sale of Scott McTominay to Napoli.

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McTominay enjoyed an outstanding season for Man Utd last time out, finding a niche in the team as a box-crashing goal scorer from midfield, yet even his exploits in front of goal failed to stop him from being axed by Ten Hag in the summer.

A deal worth €30.5 million was conducted with Napoli, where McTominay has continued his excellent form in front of goal by scoring two goals in five games for the Serie A leaders.

STATS

Scott McTominay

M, DM (C)

Napoli

Scott McTominay

M, DM (C)

Napoli

32

Games
7

Goals
1

Assists

Ten Hag claims that he did not want to let the Scotland international go but was forced into the decision.

“I’m very happy for Scott. As I said, when he left, I didn’t want this but that’s the rules the club had to deal with. The rules are, I would even say, bad, but that’s the situation created. It forced us to make this decision,” he grumbled.

Ten Hag is referring to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which dictates that clubs cannot make a loss of over £105m (€126m) over a three-year cycle.

He also addressed the situation of Alvaro Fernandez, who was allowed to depart for an initial €6m to Benfica, with the Dutchman explaining the reasoning behind the deal.

“I think the process is perfect, we have a buy back, so we have control of the situation,” Ten Hag said. “We have to assess the situation if he can maybe be an option for us in future, but playing for Man Utd in the Premier League is not so easy. You need experience.”

Fernandez has been an ever-present for Benfica this season at left-back, an area that has been a problem for United for more than a year now.

Current ETV

Álvaro Fernández

D, M (L)

Benfica

Álvaro Fernández

D, M (L)

Benfica

ETV Range

€5.9M - €9.8M

Ten Hag promises new approach for Brentford

With Manchester United firmly in the bottom half of the Premier League table prior to Saturday’s clash with Brentford, Ten Hag says he is aware the situation is one that has him under pressure. He has promised fans that the reasons why have been studied and new solutions found.

“We are calm but we’re not happy, that's for sure. No-one, not the players, staff, the leadership, the board, is happy with this position. But we know what we’re doing,” he said.

“We know also the reasons why and what we have to change.”