Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, has been called a “dictator” in a harsh evaluation from one of his former players.
Ten Hag has had a generally successful tenure as the Red Devils’ manager this year, guiding the team to their first trophy in more than five years.
They are currently in a strong position to make the Champions League after passing Newcastle to take third over the weekend.
But not everyone likes the Dutchman; at least, Riccardo Basta, a former prospect for the Bayern Munich academy, doesn’t.
Ten Hag branded a ‘dictator’
Basta played for Bayern’s academy between 2014 and 2017, but never made a first-team appearance for the club.
The 28-year-old German, who now plays his football for VfB Garching in Germany’s fifth tier, has offered a scathing assessment of Ten Hag’s coaching style, who was the club’s second-team manager at the time.
The midfielder admitted that he had a fractured relationship with the United boss, and has also claimed that he was denied the opportunity to go out on loan.
In an interview with Sport1, Basta said: “Personally, I didn’t have a good bond with Ten Hag. He was almost like a dictator. He had a plan and we players had to follow it.”
Basta went on to accuse Ten Hag of ‘false promises’ regarding his future.
“After all, every child dreams of becoming a professional footballer. And I was very close to this dream at Bayern. I was fooled. I was made false promises,” he added.
“After my first contract extension, he told me that they were counting on me and that they were planning with me. [It was clarified that] I will be a link between the first and second teams.
“I should also be in the squad from time to time. Of course I thought that was great. But at the end of the day nothing arrived from it.”
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