Erik ten Hag has revealed he held “confrontational” talks with the Manchester United hierarchy last month, telling the club he should walk away if they did not share the same “vision’ on the team’s direction.
The Dutchman had initially looked set to be sacked after a frustrating season in which United finished eighth in the Premier League, but he then led them to an FA Cup final win over Manchester City.
United considered several managers as potential replacements earlier in the summer, with Kieran McKenna, Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino among those in the hunt, but the decision was eventually made for Ten Hag to remain in charge.
That followed a lengthy post-season review, before conversations were held with Ten Hag in Ibiza.
“The argument they gave was briefly, ‘we’ve looked at everything and put it all together, but we think we already have the best manager in-house’,” Ten Hag told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (AD).
“Then I did say, ‘then we need to discuss some things, about how we interact and collaborate’. We had a good, honest, but also confrontational conversation about that. As it should be at the top.”
Ten Hag signed a contract extension earlier this month, committing his future through to the summer of 2026, and it is has already been a busy first transfer window under Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS.
Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro have been signed, with reports suggesting that PSG midfielder Manuel Ugarte could be next to make the move to Old Trafford.
While support has now been shown for Ten Hag, the Dutchman insisted the decision over whether he would remain in charge was not just one for the club to make.
“I gave my vision of the season, on the situation at United,” Ten Hag said.
“And I indicated which path we should take in my opinion. You have to be very honest with each other about that. And then it’s about: do you come together or not?
“I also told them, ‘if you think this is not the way, then we should just part ways’.”
