Cristiano Ronaldo has reignited his war of words with Erik ten Hag by telling the Manchester United manager he sent out the wrong message when he said the club were a “long way” from being able to win the Premier League and Champions League.

The five-time World Player of the Year also says Ruud van Nistelrooy would improve United if Ten Hag is prepared to listen to his new assistant manager, but insists the club needs “rebuilding from the bottom” if it is to recapture former glories.

Ronaldo claimed he had “no respect” for Ten Hag during a bombshell interview in November 2022 that ultimately led to his Old Trafford exit after a stormy second spell at the club. The Portuguese superstar said he felt “betrayed”.

The former United striker has launched a fresh assault on Ten Hag, insisting the Dutchman erred when he said the club were “really a long way away” from winning the title or Champions League during an interview with Dutch channel AD Sportwereld in July.

“The coach … they say they cannot compete to win the League and Champions League,” Ronaldo said.

“Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the League or Champions League. You have to be, to mentally say, ‘listen, maybe we don’t have that potential, but I cannot say that. We’re going to try.’ You have to try.”

United exercised an option to extend Ten Hag’s contract 12 months to June 2026 this summer, despite initially holding talks with half-a-dozen managers as they considered replacing the Dutchman. The manager’s future has been thrust into the spotlight after United lost two of their opening three games, including a 3-0 thumping by bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag’s fellow Dutchmen, Van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake, have been recruited as assistants by the United hierarchy because they felt the manager’s backroom team needed a shake-up.

Ronaldo believes his former United teammate, Van Nistelrooy, can help improve the team’s outlook, provided Ten Hag takes his advice on board. That the club should seek the assistance of more former players, he added.

Asked whether Van Nistelrooy would make a difference, Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr, said: “If Ten Hag listens to Ruud, maybe he can. I think it can help a lot because he knows the club and the club should listen the guys who were there.

“Roy Keane or Paul Scholes or Gary Neville, whatever, Sir Alex Ferguson. You cannot rebuild a club without knowledge.

“Not guys who work in (the) office. ‘I understand a lot of football because I see football in the television every day.’ No, this is not … (it) doesn’t work like that.

“The people who understand the football … 99 per cent is the people who were there in the dressing room, who were players, who were the most successful coaches in the world.

“(Pep) Guardiola, Ferguson, they were a player before, they were in dressing the room. They understand. They know how to deal with the players. It’s the people who understand these things.

“So I believe that Ruud is going to help because he was inside the club. He knows the club. He knows the fans. If the coach listens to him, I think they can improve a little bit the club.”

“...Manchester, they need to rebuild everything, in my opinion. This club needs time to rebuild because it’s still one of the best clubs in the world, but they need to change.

“I believe that the future will be bright. I believe, but they don’t depend only on the talents. It’s more than that. It’s all club, all, not only players, club, everything as a unit, united. They have to rebuild from the bottom.”

The Daily Telegraph in London