Man Utd hold seven-hour Erik ten Hag crisis meeting as Jim Ratcliffe left with £50m issue

Erik ten Hag’s future was top of the agenda as Manchester United’s officials convened in London for planned meetings, following the Premier League team’s disastrous start to the season.

Manchester United executives conducted a seven-hour crisis meeting on Tuesday, with Erik ten Hag still wondering if he will continue in command.

Ten Hag’s future was top of the agenda when United officials convened in London for planned meetings following the team’s disastrous start to the season. United sit 14th in the Premier League, with only two victories in seven games and a goal differential of minus three, putting Ten Hag’s career on the line.

Co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Joel Glazer met with CEO Omar Berrada, sports director Dan Ashworth, technical director Jason Wilcox, and director Sir Dave Brailsford to discuss Ten Hag’s future.

The meeting, held in United’s opulent London headquarters in Mayfair, began at 10 a.m. and ended just before 5 p.m., with Ratcliffe and Brailsford exiting through a back entry to escape the waiting media.

United’s terrible start to the season with eight points is their lowest in more than half a century, with pressure mounting on the club’s leadership to replace manager in order to turn the team’s fortunes around.

Ten Hag rushed out on holiday for the international break, asserting that he is aligned with his United employers and has their full backing, despite the fact that their apparent trust in him has been tested in recent weeks.

United lost out on the Champions League last season, although they have not failed to qualify for the event in consecutive years in the Premier League era.

Failure to qualify for Europe’s best club tournament would cost United roughly £50 million, therefore the leadership may opt to let Ten Hag go if they believe a top-four finish is out of reach.

Former England manager Gareth Southgate, Inter Milan head coach Simone Inzaghi, and former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel are among those vying to succeed Ten Hag if he is fired.

If the United leadership decides to let Ten Hag go, the club’s former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is presently on the first-team coaching staff, will be ready to take over on an interim basis. Ten Hag’s team has only scored five league goals all season, with Southampton scoring less in the top tier.

United have also had a slow start to their Europa League campaign, drew against FC Twente and Porto to finish 21st in the standings, with only the top 24 qualifying for the knockout stage.

Former United striker Andy Cole defended Ten Hag, who won the League Cup in his first season and the FA Cup the following season, saying: “For a person to win two cup tournaments in their first two seasons is not lucky. You can’t be lucky two seasons in a row.

“The club will do whatever they want, but when you look at the overall picture, you can’t simply blame the manager. The manager selects the players, but the players must go out there and win football games.”