Former Man Utd midfielder Fred slams ‘piece of crap’ Ten Hag

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Fred has called former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag “a piece of crap” for the way he managed the squad.

Ten Hag was appointed United boss in June 2022 and went on to win the FA Cup and EFL Cup before being sacked in October 2024.

The 56-year-old won 70 of his 128 matches in charge (D23 L35), while also losing the FA Cup final in 2022-23.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, only Jose Mourinho (58.3%) and Michael Carrick (58.3%) have had a better win percentage than Ten Hag (54.7%) among permanent Manchester United managers.

Although he praised Ten Hag’s tactical knowledge, Fred slammed the Dutch coach’s man-management skills.

“Ten Hag was tactically very good, but with the group he was a piece of crap,” Fred said on the Charla Podcast.

“He argued with everyone. He argued with me, with Cristiano [Ronaldo], with Casemiro, with Rashford … He wouldn’t put me in to play, sometimes it got stressful.

“[With Ten Hag] Only his Dutch players played. A clique-ridden coach. But, tactically, one of the best I’ve ever worked with.

“He wanted the team to run, but Cristiano [was already] older. He took Cristiano out [of the starting lineup], and then there was a falling out.”

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 1, 2026

Fred was brought to Manchester by Mourinho in 2018, and the pair worked together again at Fenerbahce last season, with the midfielder far more fond of the current Real Madrid boss.

“Mourinho’s a great bloke, he is funny. I’ve just been with him at Fenerbahce; he brought me to United,” said Fred.

“Before [Carlo] Ancelotti came along, his name was being mentioned for the national team [Brazil].

“So I’d show him the rumours and he’d say: ‘F— off, mate. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to manage my club here.’ A really decent bloke.”

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