Rio Ferdinand slams INEOS over Erik ten Hag sacking and names 'best candidate' for job

icon has criticised INEOS for their handling of Erik ten Hag's sacking as he advised the club over which candidate is best-placed to succeed him.

United released a statement on Monday confirming , bringing an end to his 28-month reign at Old Trafford which began in June 2022. It came less than 24 hours after their 2-1 defeat to West Ham on Sunday.

Ruud van Nistelrooy will assume temporary charge as their interim head coach while the club search for a permanent boss. But Ferdinand accused INEOS figures - which would include Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford - of handling the situation poorly.

"I look at INEOS... did they back themselves into a corner with the way they handled stuff in the summer?" Ferdinand said in a video clip uploaded to X.

"Retrospectively, I think they'll look back and go 'you know we could've handled it differently, handled it better.'

"I think having a manager in place and actively looking for new managers and it becoming public knowledge isn't a great way to do it. But one win in eight games for Ten Hag, it isn't great. I don't think he or anyone else will be surprised with this."

Before deciding to retain Ten Hag in the summer, United officials held talks with Thomas Tuchel to gauge whether the German boss was interested in taking the post.

In the end, the former Chelsea boss declined and in early October, the 51-year-old was hired by the Football Association to become England's new boss from January 2025.

Ferdinand believes United's hierarchy made a colossal error in failing to snap up Tuchel when they had the chance, as he named the Champions League winner as the 'best candidate' to succeed Ten Hag.

"My big thing is it's taken so long, one of the main best candidates sitting out there was Thomas Tuchel and he's gone now," Ferdinand added.

"I think Man United have been looking at that and [are now] maybe saying 'is that one that got away?' Does Ruud [van Nistelrooy] come in to be their next line and be their safety net, be the safety blanket, that they were talking [about] and envisaged before?

"Was it always the plan for Ruud van Nistelrooy to come in and be the guy to come in and take over the reins?"

Van Nistelrooy, who was appointed Ten Hag's assistant before the start of the season, will take charge of their next game, a Carabao Cup clash with Leicester City on Wednesday.