Ten Hag responds to Ronaldo's criticism: It doesn't matter and it's okay

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has hit back at criticism from former player Cristiano Ronaldo, saying the five-time world player of the year is "far from Manchester".

The relationship between the two men is not good at all, as Ronaldo decided to end his second adventure at United and move to the Saudi League at the beginning of 2023 to defend the colors of Al-Nasr due to a dispute with the Dutchman.

The 39-year-old Portugal captain returned to attack the Dutch coach this week, saying on an episode of the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast that "Manchester needs to rebuild everything, in my opinion".

"The manager says they can't compete to win the league and the Champions League. As a manager of Manchester United, you can't say you won't fight to win the league or the Champions League," he added.

The Red Devils finished eighth in the league last season, their lowest finish since 1990, and were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage.

Ronaldo believes his former club needs radical changes, but believes Ten Hag should not rule out winning major trophies at the same time.

After winning the FA Cup and League Cup, Ten Hag said he was "absolutely confident" of winning more trophies, but also indicated that his team was "still a long way" from being ready to win the league title that has eluded them since Alex Ferguson's final season in 2013.

The former Real Madrid and Juventus star continued: "This club needs time to rebuild because it is still one of the best clubs in the world, but it needs change."

Asked about Ronaldo's comments on Thursday, Ten Hag told a news conference: "He said Manchester United cannot win the Premier League. He said that if you read the article carefully. He is far away in Saudi Arabia, he is far away from Manchester. Everyone has the right to have an opinion. That's fine."

Ronaldo's interview came after an international break that immediately followed United's humiliating 3-0 home defeat by arch-rivals Liverpool.

But Ten Hag said he did not let it affect him, insisting: "It does not affect me. I know in this process where we are, what we have to do, where we are going. I said before that we are still in a transition period. We have to integrate a lot of young players as well into the team."

"We are still dealing with injuries, we have to get the injured players back into the team. Before anyone thinks of excuses, 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 we have to have the mentality in every game that we have to win it."

The 20-times champions, who play hosts Southampton on Saturday, have lost two of their first three league games of the season.

Luke Shaw and Denmark's Rasmus Hojlund are still sidelined, but new signing Manuel Ugarte could make his debut after featuring for his country in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.