"Plays like Havertz" "Worse than Fred" - Fans mock Erik ten Hag after old clip of Manchester United manager goes viral

Fans trolled Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag after a clip of him as a player recently went viral. Ten Hag is popularly known for his managerial achievements but not many know that played as a centre-back in a professional career that spanned 13 years between 1989 and 2002.

The 53-year-old began his playing career at FC Twente Enschede. Over the course of his career, he played for De Graafschap, RKC Waalwijk, and Utrecht in the Eredivisie.

Ten Hag had three stints with Twente, playing the majority of his club career for the Dutch club. He was able to win two trophies as a player, including the KNVB Cup in the 2000-01 season.

Twitter user @ThePeakSanti posed an old clip of him as a player, playing a poor cross that went out of play:

Fans trolled Ten Hag with one posting on X (formerly Twitter):

"Plays exactly like Havertz."

Another fan wrote:

"Lmaooo worse than Fred."

Ten Hag has won six major trophies as Ajax manager, including three Eredivisie titles.

The Dutch tactician also had an impressive debut campaign at Manchester United in the 2022-23 season, winning the Carabao Cup and finishing third in the Premier League. He has a win percentage of 63%, winning 46 of his 73 games in charge of the Red Devils across all competitions.

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"It is funny when you hear stuff like that” - Manchester United star Scott McTominay addresses talks over being a striker

Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay addressed rumors that he was a striker during his academy days.

The Scotsman proved to be the hero for the Red Devils on Saturday, October 7, when he came off the bench in the 87th minute to score a brilliant brace, securing a last-gasp 2-1 against Brentford in the Premier League.

McTominay has been deployed as a central midfielder and central defensive midfielder for most of his senior career. However, his eye for goal has been noticed, largely in part due to his form with Scotland, where he scored five goals in seven appearances during the 2024 Euro qualifiers.

There were rumors claiming the 26-year-old used to be a striker before being converted to a midfielder. However, McTominay denied this, saying (via Manchester United's official website):

“People always said: ‘You played as a striker as a kid.' I never played as a striker. I played two games there with [former Reserves coach] Warren Joyce because we had no striker. So, whenever I score a goal, people always say: ‘He used to be a striker, that’s why."

He added:

“I never used to be a striker! I’ve always been a midfield player, a number eight, so it is funny when you hear stuff like that.”

He has scored 21 goals in 215 appearances for Manchester United to date.