Former Barcelona and Arsenal forward Thierry Henry has revealed that he encouraged his former employers at the Nou Camp to appoint Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag before he took the reins at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman arrived at United last summer as Ralf Rangnick’s successor at the club after catching the eye with Dutch giants Ajax. Despite initial struggles with the Red Devils, he has impressed since and has put together a viable challenge for the Champions League places.
He could potentially have been elsewhere though with Henry admitting that he had sent a personal plea to Barcelona for them to make a move for Ten Hag - only for the Catalan giants to appoint former teammate Xavi instead. Speaking to CBS after Man Utd’s 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League, the former French international said: “I will be honest I am a big fan of Ten Hag and I like him very much.
“He is the coach I recommended to [club president, Joan] Laporta after Koeman got sacked at Barca. He is a genius.”
Whilst defeat to Arsenal has put Man Utd under threat from their top four rivals, Henry is still expecting big things of Ten Hag’s side going forwards. He has even predicted the Red Devils to play better football than during the trophy-laden spell of Sir Alex Ferguson.
He added: “You give one more year to Ten Hag and back him in the market, United will be a force to be reckoned with.
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“No disrespect to Sir Alex but if Ten Hag gets it right at United, they will play more attractive football than they played under Sir Alex Ferguson.”
Barcelona and Man Utd might well be thankful that Henry’s appeals at the Camp Nou fell on deaf ears. The Red Devils occupy a place in the top four in the Premier League whilst Barca are in the midst of a hugely impressive season under Xavi.
The Catalan giants sit three points clear at the top of LaLiga having lost just one league game throughout the campaign. Intriguingly, they are set to take on Ten Hag’s United later this season with the two sides coming together next month in the Europa League playoffs after Barca dropped down from the Champions League.
Speaking about the upcoming tie, Xavi hailed his opposite number for the impact he has had at Old Trafford. He said: "We [Barcelona] will have to compete.
"Going to Manchester against a really tough rival and a historic side that has grown a lot with Ten Hag, with great individual players.
"Yes, it is the toughest rival, once again, in the Europa League. We will have to compete, it's a massive challenge for us, our players will probably be more motivated against a strong team and we will have to compete."
