Ex-Man Utd wonderkid Erik ten Hag controversially sold claims he was 'disrespected' by manager

A former Manchester United wonderkid has opened up on how he felt "disrespected" by Erik ten Hag, who once aimed an X-rated outburst at him.

Ten Hag, who won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup at Old Trafford, continued United's traditions by integrating the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo into the first-team set up.

However, one academy graduate was not happy with how he was treated by the Dutchman during his time with the 13-time Premier League champions.

Zidane Iqbal, born in Manchester to a Pakistani father and an Iraqi mother, joined United at the age of nine and signed his first professional contract in 2021.

He then made a historic debut in 2021 against Young Boys, becoming the first British-born South Asian to play for United and the first to play in the Champions League.

Ralf Rangnick was the manager who gave him his first-team bow for United but despite being used in pre-reason under Ten Hag, that was to be the only appearance Iqbal made.

Iqbal, who was on the receiving end of brutal rant where Ten Hag branded him "f***ing rubbish" during a training exercise, left United for Dutch side Utrecht in a £857,000 switch in the summer of 2023.

He knew he needed to move on after failing to make the starting XI during a Carabao Cup tie against Charlton Athletic, where United won 3-0.

Having lined up as a No.10 in training ahead of the game, Iqbal got tickets for his family and friends and assumed he was going to feature.

Zidane Iqbal made just one appearance for Manchester United. Image: Getty

However, he remained an unused substitute for the quarter-final clash and felt as though there wasn't a level of respect from Ten Hag.

"I just wanted 10 minutes off a bench to show myself and it really frustrated me that the gaffer didn’t seem to rate me enough to give me a chance to show if I could sink or swim," he told The National in a new interview.

“I spoke to my dad and agent and said: ‘I can’t do this for another year’. From the outside, it looked amazing to all my friends because I was training and travelling with United’s first team. For me, it was mentally tough because I was just training and not allowed to play with the under-23s. I thought to myself, ‘I’m just like a number’.”

Iqbal added: "Then I got to the stadium, looked at the whiteboard and didn’t see my name. I was gutted. Then I thought I’d come off the bench. Nothing. That was the turning point for me. I didn’t feel the manager respected me enough to play me.”

After a conversation in his office, Ten Hag requested that Iqbal didn't go to the Under 19 World Cup in April 2023 because he needed the training numbers and called him for him to stay patient.

Zidane Iqbal still has two years on his contract at Utrecht. Image: Getty

Iqbal was vying to become the first Iraqi player in the Premier League but he never got his chance and decided it was time for him to move on.

He continued: “But I told my agent that I needed to move. I’d done everything that was asked and didn’t get a chance. I saw that Jadon Sancho had moved abroad from Man City, Paul Pogba from Man United. I was happy to try and take a similar route."

A full Iraq international, Iqbal played 19 times for Utrecht in his first season but after an injury-hit second campaign, he is now bidding to recover and get back on track in the final two years of his deal.