Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has vehemently criticized the club’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick for ”airing the club’s dirty laundry in public” and has even suggested that he should no longer be allowed to speak to the media.
The German has hardly shied away from answering the tough questions during press conferences. It is no strange news to hear about the broken mess of a dressing room that Old Trafford is but Rangnick has taken it one step further and has been extremely outspoken during media interactions.
He has criticized the United recruitment policy, has hit out at individual players like Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard, and has also been critical of the team’s defending and athleticism.
The 63-year-old has just one match left to manage in his tenure as United coach as the Red Devils draw curtains on their league season with a fixture against Crystal Palace away from home on May 22. Rangnick will then continue as a consultant with the club for the next two years as current ACF Ajax boss Erik ten Hag has already been roped in as the new United manager.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube show, Ferdinand suggested that Rangnick shouldn’t be talking so openly about the club’s problems in media.
‘I don’t agree with the way that he’s airing the dirty laundry in public while he’s still in the hotseat, while he’s still in there. Make waves behind the scenes. Push and pull and jostle for positions and outcomes behind the scenes with people.
I’ve said this for a couple of weeks now, he’s saying a lot of stuff to almost distance himself from responsibility. But he has to accept some responsibility that the team has got worse since he’s been in there.”
A major part of Rangnick’s frustration arrives from the fact that he had requested the club to sign a forward in January after Martial’s loan move to Sevilla as well as Mason Greenwood’s suspension. However, the United board paid no heed to his request.
Rangnick dropped the names of Luis Diaz, Julian Alvarez, and Dusan Vlahvoic as suitable short-term and long-term signings for the club but they were in no mood to do business during the winter and instead, wanted to wait for the summer. Diaz is now at Liverpool, Vlahovic at Juventus while Julian Alvarez will join Manchester City next summer.
While Ferdinand understands and empathizes with his frustration, he feels that the manager crosses the line frequently and United need to intervene and stop him from having any further press conferences.
