Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag laughed after being told what Kobbie Mainoo said about his reign at Old Trafford. The 56-year-old has become accustomed to criticism when his time at the club is discussed, but Mainoo's comments brought a different reaction.
Mainoo's praise for Ten Hag's training sessions
In an interview with Clarence Seedorf for Amazon Prime, Mainoo recalled training with the first team as a teenager. "When I was 16, 17, I was training with the first team every day," he said. "With Raphael Varane, Casemiro, and Bruno Fernandes, the speed of the balls and trying to adjust was my main thing."
Mainoo added: "I think the training was tough. When Erik ten Hag and Mitchell van der Gaag were here, the sessions were tough. They were some of the best sessions I've been a part of. The intensity and competitiveness of those sessions really helped me in that time."
Ten Hag's response and Mainoo's development
After being told about Mainoo's comments, Ten Hag laughed and praised the academy graduate. He gave Mainoo his United debut in January 2023, and the midfielder became a key player during his second season in charge.
"Kobbie is, for me, special," Ten Hag told The Athletic. "A lot of people were building him, supporting him. But in the end, he's doing it by himself."
On the demands he placed on Mainoo in training, Ten Hag added: "The first time I saw him, playing for the second team, I thought, 'OK, he's an amazing talent'. But he was too easy. I saw that we needed him to get in a higher intensity. We started to bring him in drills where we challenged him on dynamics."
Contrast with Ronaldo and Sancho fallouts
The mutual respect between Ten Hag and Mainoo contrasts with the manager's relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo. Ten Hag has claimed Ronaldo did not work hard enough in training, fuelling the row that led to Ronaldo's second stint being cut short in November 2022.
In an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Ronaldo said of Ten Hag: "I don't have respect for him because he doesn't show respect for me."
Ronaldo was not the only player to criticise Ten Hag. In September 2023, Jadon Sancho was left out of the matchday squad to face Arsenal, with Ten Hag pointing to the winger's performances in training. Sancho posted on social media that he had been "a scapegoat for a long time", and was subsequently loaned out to Borussia Dortmund in January 2024.
