Manchester United face another reality check as bitter rival Pep Guardiola has told them who to appoint as their next manager.
United have started the scramble to find a new permanent boss ahead of the start of next season. Erik Ten Hag is among the favourites to replace interim boss Ralf Rangnick at Old Trafford and has been spoken to by United, along with Paris Saint-Germain's Mauricio Pochettino.
Now Manchester City rival Guardiola has waded into the debate and urged United to give the job to Ajax boss Ten Hag. And Guardiola even took the liberty of offering to provide United with a glowing reference on behalf of the Dutchman, if he is the man the fallen giants decide to choose.
Guardiola worked with Ten Hag at Barcelona when the Dutchman spent a year coaching the club's B team. Guardiola is convinced Ten Hag has all the attributes to succeed at United, who now face the humiliation of being told what to do next by their Spanish neighbour.
And Guardiola says he would even call City's rivals to offer a recommendation of Ten Hag: "We spoke quite regularly and he is just an incredible person and human being. I was surprised at how humble he was. For his qualities, just take a look at his Ajax team in the last years. It is a joy to watch. In many, many games, not just the year they got to the Champions League semi-final (in 2019).
"In terms of qualities, just look at his teams. To define a manager, watch his team for a long time. This is a team, and this manager makes the players play. There is no doubt about that. If I was 100 per cent sure I would call Manchester United and say 'guys you have to take him', but nobody knows."
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Guardiola has also revealed Ruben Dias will miss next weekend's title showdown with Liverpool at the Etihad. Dias has been out since the start of March with a damaged hamstring - and Guardiola admits he cannot take a chance on the Portuguese international because a setback would see him miss the remainder of the season.
Guardiola added: "The doctor said the position he got injured is so risky. If he fell down again he could miss the rest of the season. We are not going to take risks. When he's fit, he'll be back. I wouldn't put a player in when he's not ready. It's a question of time and hopefully we can help him be involved in the last part of the season."
