What they say

"I will always be grateful to you for giving me the opportunity and the confidence to play for this club.

"It hasn't gone as well as we wanted, but I will remember the good times we had together and I wish you all the best in the future. Thank you very much Erik"

Alejandro Garnacho, United winger

"Am I surprised? No. They kept the man in charge, season kicks in, I actually thought we were starting to see some new signs in the first two or three games, and then we get beat by Liverpool and never recovered.

"It was like a boxer getting hit and knocked down in the third round and never recovering. Then getting knocked out, knocked down, every single round all the way to the 12th round.

"And finally, we're here. The fight's been called off in the last round for the manager, and I think now we're going to go for a new direction."

Rio Ferdinand, former United player

"I wouldn't say I'm sympathetic toward Ten Hag, he was given an opportunity to fix what went wrong last season when he shouldn't have been.

"... I'm not sure what Man United can do right now, I don't think the fans would buy Gareth Southgate, but I don't think (ex-Barcelona boss) Xavi would be a bad appointment.

"He's got huge status as a player, that doesn't make you a great manager, but it does give you instant respect on the training pitch."

Jamie Carragher, TV pundit

"We were just waiting for it to happen. Even the way he was talking that 'we're all on the same page'. Well, they weren't really on the same page, because everyone knew they were talking to (other) managers in the summer.

"If they're on the same page, why on earth are they speaking to managers in the summer? As soon as that came out, we all said he was a dead man walking, unfortunately."

Alan Shearer, former England player

"In good teams, coaches hold players accountable. In great teams, players hold players accountable."

Roy Keane, former United player

"We have seen over the weeks, the difficulties in finding any kind of plan, identity, people or connection and it wasn't working.

"The talent of players saved the situation in some games, but at the end of it, I think it's totally normal to see this situation."

Louis Saha, former United forward