Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Jurgen Klopp’s achievements at Liverpool are ‘nothing short of remarkable’ and believes if Erik ten Hag can bring similar success to Old Trafford then fans will ‘be looking at him as a Messiah’.
The Dutchman will take over as Manchester United boss from next season and guided Ajax to their fourth successive league title this term.
He also guided the Amsterdam outfit to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019 where they defeated Real Madrid and Juventus before losing to Spurs, and Ferdinand is hoping ten Hag can have a similar impact at United to the one Klopp had at Anfield when he joined the Reds in 2015.
“I think what Klopp’s done has been nothing short of remarkable, to come in and change that club around. Where they were is almost like where Man United are at now,” Ferdinand told his Vibe with Five podcast (via Manchester World).
“So if Ten Hag can come in and do like what he (Klopp) did, we’ll be looking at him as a Messiah. So I think it’s only right we do that with Klopp.”
United are in a very similar situation to the one Liverpool were in before the German came to Merseyside.
Obviously a huge club, but the players simply aren’t performing and the fans are being seriously let down.
The Red Devils will play Europa League football once again next season after only managing a sixth place finish, whilst they watched their city rivals win the Premier League and arch enemy Liverpool win both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup with a Champions League final still to play on Saturday.
If ten Hag can come in and turn things around then fair play – but he will be inheriting a squad that’s got more talent than the one Klopp inherited seven years ago, plus he’ll receive more of a financial backing from the owners.
It all remains to be seen what will happen next season, but when discussing next season’s title race, Ferdinand backed Manchester City to win the Premier League title for the third time in a row.
“It depends on Man United’s recruitment. Jokes! No, no, no,” the BT Sport pundit said.
“Listen, I said at the beginning of this season that Chelsea would win it after winning the Champions League and what (Thomas) Tuchel had done, but they went backwards.
“I’m going to go for City. I think they’ll get the three in a row they’re looking for. I think that will happen.”