Peter Schmeichel has slammed former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag for ‘stirring the pot’ amid yet another turbulent period for the club.
Ten Hag conducted a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic last week in which he criticised Cristiano Ronaldo for ‘letting the team down’, as well as hitting out at the club’s hierarchy for contributing to a ‘toxic culture’.
The Dutchman, who joined United at the end of the 2021-22 season before being sacked in October 2024, also revealed that he pleaded with the club to buy Harry Kane and Declan Rice during his tenure. In his first summer at United, after a move for the Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong fell through, Ten Hag asked about the possibility of signing Rice, but West Ham did not want to sell their captain.
‘I think we could have done more to test. They tried but I don’t know how the process went,’ he said.
The interview has come amid a tricky spell for United, with manager Michael Carrick feeling the heat after recording eight matches without a win in all competitions, as well as inflammatory interviews from captain Bruno Fernandes and defender Lisandro Martinez in the media.
Speaking on The Overlap Daily, former United goalkeeper Schmeichel said: ‘What really annoys me in everything that has happened in the past two weeks is Ten Hag coming out and saying that he wanted Declan Rice and Harry Kane, like he was a god.
‘It’s so ridiculous. He brought (Lisandro) Martinez in, (Matthijs) de Ligt. I mean he brought players in that are still there, how dare he go out and say that.
‘Everybody knew we should sign Harry Kane. Everyone knows we should have signed Declan Rice, that’s no secret. I don’t know why we didn’t do that.
Schmeichel has slammed former Man United manager Erik ten Hag for ‘stirring the pot’ with his recent comments that criticised the club (Source: overlapdaily/YouTube)
Ten Hag conducted a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic last week in which he hit out at the club’s hierarchy for contributing to a ‘toxic culture’
‘But you have now people stirring the pot where they should just keep calm and not talk and maybe talk about what they did for this football club themselves, or what they didn’t do.
‘He wasn’t a success at Manchester United. Why does he feel the need to come out and say that?
‘What he’s saying is “I was let down by the club” and there might be an element of truth in that but he wasn’t good enough. And then he went to Bayer Leverkusen, a team who had just won the Bundesliga, and then he got sacked within, what, three games?
‘Maybe just take a step back and don’t put yourself in that because then you will end up with someone like me criticising him, and there’s no need for that. We don’t need it in the narrative.’
Ten Hag was sacked by United in October 2024 after a string of poor results left the team 14th in the Premier League.
His future had been in doubt after he led United to a disappointing eighth-placed finish in the top flight a couple of months earlier, but victory in the FA Cup final over rivals Manchester City contributed to the club’s decision to give him a contract extension in the summer after crunch talks in Ibiza.
He went on to replace Xabi Alonso at Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen the following season, but was sacked after just three games in charge, and he criticised the club’s board for this ‘unprecedented’ decision.
Meanwhile, United confirmed today that under-fire boss Michael Carrick will be given the chance to turn the club’s season around.
Carrick will remain in charge for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea after Old Trafford bosses decided not to sack him with United in 16th place in the Premier League table, one point clear of the relegation zone.
The 45-year-old still faces a battle to improve results and performances and convince his employers that he remains the right man for the job.
Like Schmeichel, many former players have been vocal about the club’s current situation, with Gary Neville accusing the squad of being ‘unprofessional’ in an eviscerating attack following the weekend’s defeat to Bournemouth.
‘They’ve teased him, haven’t they? They’ve conned him for a few months. They’ve conned him,’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.
‘Honestly, he would never say this publicly because he’s got class. I can say it for him though. He’ll look at those players with disgust. Some of them, he’ll be disgusted with some of those players.
‘A few of them aren’t that professional. I live in Manchester. Some of them aren’t that professional. So I’ve got no time for them.
‘There’s a few of them that don’t go to bed at the right time, don’t eat the right things, don’t think about Manchester United every single minute of every day, and aren’t living and breathing this football club as they should be – and as professionals should.
‘Why? Because it’s gone to their heads. They are nothing, some of those players.’
United travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, where Carrick will be desperately hoping that his players can finally pick up their first three points since Ipswich at the end of August.
