Ruud van Nistelrooy has revealed that Erik ten Hag was “hurt” by his sacking from Manchester United earlier this week, paying the price for a poor run of results to start 2024/25.
Van Nistelrooy was quickly appointed as interim boss, having been brought back to the club by Ten Hag in the summer, 18 years after he last represented United as a player.
“I saw him on Monday and spoke to him before the (Leicester City) game,” Van Nistelrooy told reporters on Wednesday after a 5-2 win in the Carabao Cup.
“I was disappointed and excited because he really cared about the club. The first conversations we had when I came back to the club, I felt that he cared and loved the club and wanted to take the club forward. That’s why it also hurts him that he went having to leave but also proud of his success here, winning both cups.”
Ten Hag delivered the Carabao Cup in his debut season at United, ending a six-year trophy drought that had set in after the 2016/17 campaign. He then won the FA Cup against the odds last season and pulled off a shock win over Manchester City in the final at Wembley Stadium.
This record makes him one of the few United managers in the last 146 years to have won two or more major trophies, joining the esteemed company of Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Matt Busby, Ernest Mangnall, Ron Atkinson and Jose Mourinho.
But Ten Hag could not survive a start to the season that saw United sit 14th in the Premier League table through nine games, having won just three league games and heading into Europe. Defeat to West Ham away last Sunday ended the joy as the sporting hierarchy decided his time was up.
