Manchester United have endured a disappointing 2021-22 season and their former players have been lining up to discuss what’s going wrong at their former club.
After the signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane last summer, many expected United to challenge for the Premier League title – a trophy they haven’t won since 2013.
But their league form has been appalling, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked in November and Ralf Rangnick taking over, while United were out of all cup competitions by the middle of March.
With Erik ten Hag installed as their new manager for next season, there’s been plenty of talk about what he’ll need to do in order to revive the club’s fortunes.
We’ve picked out 11 former United players and what they’ve had to say about the state of their former club.
Rio Ferdinand
“I feel from the outside looking in, they all just want to be mates,’ Ferdinand said on his Vibe With Five YouTube channel after United’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester City.
“No one wants to put someone’s nose out of joint. It’s like they’re all in an office job in the city. They’re all being nice and they don’t really like each other but they won’t tell each other.
“To win, you’ve got to be pulling people about telling them you’re rubbish, sort yourself out. You don’t have to be that aggressive either… it can be a simple conversation. Please tell me they are [doing that].
“I don’t see a response. Their body language is awful, walking about slumped, like the world’s against them, looking unhappy.
“You’re playing for Man United man, in a derby, do you know how much those fans in that stadium would give to be on that pitch and you’re walking around like ‘I could be doing better things than this on a Sunday.’
“That’s the vibe I’m getting from certain guys. Fred’s an easy cop out, the system didn’t suit him at all.”
“We’ve seen too many managers come and go, it’s not about the…