Erik ten Hag “expressed his thoughts on the situation” involving one former Manchester United star before the player was sold in a polarising transfer.
The 54-year-old former Manchester United manager’s run at Old Trafford came to an end in the 2024-25 Premier League campaign.
Erik ten Hag was sacked in late October after a disastrous start to the season, with United in 14th place at the time of his dismissal.
United managed only three wins in their opening nine league matches under Ten Hag and the Dutchman was axed after a 2-1 defeat to West Ham away from home.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was assistant manager to Ten Hag, was installed as United interim manager for four matches after the former Ajax boss was axed.
The 48-year-old United legend won three and drew one of his four-match interim spell at Old Trafford before Ruben Amorim arrived as the new head coach in November.
Ten Hag’s encounter with ex-Man Utd man
Erik ten Hag saw a significant reinforcement to the Manchester United first-team squad in the summer after Ineos committed to a summer spending spree.
The former Ajax and United manager had inked a new deal in the summer after Ineos retained Ten Hag’s services following their end-of-season review.
Ten Hag had been keen to keep hold of Scott McTominay in the summer window, but the former United star was sold to Napoli for a £25.7m transfer fee.
Scott McTominay had been a mainstay in the United first team after rising through the ranks of the youth academy and Ten Hag admired the player.
However, United’s desire to land Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain all but certainly sealed McTominay’s exit from Old Trafford.
McTominay has now opened up on the clear message that he sent to Ten Hag after the ex-United manager discussed the “situation” surrounding him in the summer.
“It was a big decision, but in some ways, it was quite straightforward,” he told BBC Scotland, as per BBC Sport.
“On my last day, I had to go and see everyone, and it was not easy to say goodbye. But that’s football. That’s the life.
“I spoke to him [Ten Hag]. He expressed his thoughts on the situation. I said, ‘Listen, it’s my career; I am here to push myself on.’
“In this situation, I have to look out for number one and go with my gut feeling of what I want to do in my career and not be held back by any other external factors.”
McTominay’s reaction to Man Utd exit
Scott McTominay would have seen his playing time reduced with Manuel Ugarte’s arrival and the Scottish midfielder moved to play under Antonio Conte at Napoli.
The 28-year-old former United star has secured regular first-team minutes at the Serie A club, with McTominay netting four times in 15 appearances so far.
McTominay admitted that he is “thoroughly enjoying” himself in Italy’s top-flight league and his decision to leave United was mutually agreed between both sides.
“It was a mutual decision,” he continued.
“It was a case of – there’s an opportunity there, do you want to go? I saw the passionate fans, I saw the coach, I saw the players and I saw an opportunity. I took it. I didn’t look back.
“It didn’t take me long to make the decision because I knew that was what I wanted, and I’ll never have any regrets in my life.
“Obviously, I know from their side that FFP is difficult. It’s not easy for clubs to make a decision regarding homegrown players, but that was never in my thought process.
“My thought process was coming here [Naples], seeing the fans and the coach, and hopefully doing really good things.
“As soon as I put my mind to something I want to do it, that’s it. It was amicable. I love that football club to bits, they have been my life for 22 years, but I have moved on now. I am thoroughly enjoying myself here.”
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