Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag branded a 'dictator' and accused of making 'false promises' by former player

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been branded a "dictator" in a scathing assessment from one of his former players.

Ten Hag has enjoyed a largely successful spell at the helm of the Red Devils this season, leading the club to their first piece of silverware in over five years.

Meanwhile, they are in a promising position to qualify for the Champions League, after leapfrogging Newcastle into third place over the weekend.

However, not everyone is a fan of the Dutchman, or at least that's the case for former Bayern Munich academy prospect Riccardo Basta.

Ten Hag branded a 'dictator'

Basta played for Bayern's academy between 2014 and 2017, but never made a first-team appearance for the club.

The 28-year-old German, who now plays his football for VfB Garching in Germany's fifth tier, has offered a scathing assessment of Ten Hag's coaching style, who was the club's second-team manager at the time.

The midfielder admitted that he had a fractured relationship with the United boss, and has also claimed that he was denied the opportunity to go out on loan.

In an interview with Sport1, Basta said: "Personally, I didn't have a good bond with Ten Hag. He was almost like a dictator. He had a plan and we players had to follow it."

Basta went on to accuse Ten Hag of 'false promises' regarding his future.

"After all, every child dreams of becoming a professional footballer. And I was very close to this dream at Bayern. I was fooled. I was made false promises," he added.

"After my first contract extension, he told me that they were counting on me and that they were planning with me. [It was clarified that] I will be a link between the first and second teams.

"I should also be in the squad from time to time. Of course I thought that was great. But at the end of the day nothing arrived from it."