BROKEN PROMISES! Ten Hag slams Man Utd hierarchy for 'embarrassing' McTominay transfer as he opens up on sacking

Erik ten Hag has accused the Manchester United hierarchy of breaking promises they made to him and says the sale of Scott McTominay left him "embarrassed".

The former United boss has launched a scathing attack on Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos team in his first major interview since being sacked by the club in October 2024. Ten Hag was dismissed months after signing a contract extension with United.

The Dutchman won the FA Cup in May 2024 to add to his Carabao Cup from the previous campaign, but was still on shaky ground. United spoke with Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi that summer before making a U-turn to trigger a clause in Ten Hag's contract to extend his stay.

It was to prove a short-lived decision, with Ratcliffe and the United executives pulling the trigger to sack their manager following a dismal defeat by West Ham. Two years on from his dismissal, Ten Hag has opened up on what happened in an interview with The Athletic.

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“I wouldn’t go on with only one year left,” he said. “So I said, ‘I need an extra year and we have to do it together’. They promised me loyalty, they promised me backing, they promised communication, that we get aligned. We spoke about the issues. But the promises, they didn’t keep.”

One of the promises Ten Hag says they made was to keep midfielder Scott McTominay, who had scored 10 goals in the 2024/25 season. However, United ended up selling the academy graduate to Napoli for £25million and the Scotland international has gone on to thrive in Italy.

“That’s why I got disappointed,” Ten Hag said. “In Ibiza, we agreed. I said, ‘No selling Scott McTominay’. We would go aligned in the transfer window.

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"I make an argument, a reason: we don’t have scoring abilities. Scott brings scoring abilities and great mentality. He has United in all his veins. So when they bring up the subject, ‘No’. And in the end they sold him. I got, of course, very embarrassed and disappointed.”

McTominay has 27 goals and 10 assists in 85 games for Napoli and helped the club win the Serie A title in his debut campaign. His transfer has been viewed as a major blunder by United, who used the funds to sign Manuel Ugarte for £50m from Paris Saint-Germain.

McTominay's exit wasn't the only transfer that left Ten Hag unhappy with those above him at Old Trafford. The former Ajax boss says he pushed for the signings of Frenkie de Jong, Declan Rice and Harry Kane.

Speaking about De Jong, he said: “Everyone’s thinking the manager is doing the negotiations, that I’m involved in financial issues, but I was never.

"Of course, I did my best; I set up meetings with him, where it was (former chief executive) Richard [Arnold] and (ex-football director) John [Murtough] involved as well, to pursue him to come over. He could have been very important building the team, not only that year but for the future. But we didn’t make it.”