Guardiola Ten Hag splitGetty

'Attractive, brilliant' - Erik ten Hag salutes Man City for Premier League title win & plans to personally congratulate Pep Guardiola

  • Ten Hag praised City for title triumph
  • Dutchman will congratulate old colleague Guardiola
  • He refused to comment on charges against City

WHAT HAPPENED? The Dutchman paid tribute to United's rivals after they were crowned Premier League champions for a third consecutive year, and revealed he plans to offer his congratulations to Guardiola. Ten Hag and Guardiola worked alongside each other at Bayern Munich for two seasons.

WHAT THEY SAID: "I will do, I think in the first moment, I will congratulate him for winning the title and also the way [they won the title], a demonstration of football, everyone likes the way they play, attractive, brilliant," Ten Hag told a press conference ahead of United's match against Chelsea. The United manager also refused to get involved in a discussion on whether City's title win was tainted due to the 115 charges the club faces for alleged breaches of the league's financial rules. "That is not about me to make a judgement," he added. "It is an investigation so they do their work and we will find out. It is not for me to make a judgement."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: United are on the verge of sealing a top-four finish and one point against Chelsea on Thursday will secure their return to next season's Champions League after a one-year absence. United have failed to qualify for Europe's elite competition on four occasions in the last decade and they have not gone beyond the quarter-finals of the competition since 2011. Ten Hag said their patchy record underlined how far they still have to go despite their progress in his first season in charge. "It tells a lot about this club, where we are and where we were. We have now stepped up but still a long way to go," he added.

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IN TWO PHOTOS:

Pep Guardiola Manchester City 2022-23Getty ImagesErik ten Hag Manchester United 2022-23Getty Images

WHAT NEXT? After playing Chelsea, United round off their Premier League season at home to Fulham on Sunday.

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