Wesley Sneijder’s qualities as a footballer are beyond question, but perhaps punditry isn’t really his game.
The now-retired Dutch legend was singing the praises of Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and his Liverpool counterpart Arne Slot, and he was then asked which of the two northwestern clubs would be the first to add to their current haul of league titles.
The 40-year-old replied (via talkSPORT): “Manchester United, because they have time to build something, the coach will stay and they are confident enough in the coach to build on something. I believe they will be stronger this season than last season.”
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Maybe Sneijder should go back and have a look at the final table from the most recent Premier League season, when Liverpool finished five places and 22 points ahead of United.
The fortunes of the two clubs deviated wildly from the previous campaign, admittedly, but to say at this moment in time that Ten Hag will win the English top flight before Slot seems preposterous.
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Jurgen Klopp will be a huge loss at Anfield, of course, but he’s left his successor an excellent group of players who could well have pushed Manchester City and Arsenal all the way last term were it not for a costly April downturn after an injury crisis earlier in the spring.
It’ll take a huge effort to finish ahead of those two teams next May, but Liverpool are coming from a far more favourable starting point than United, that’s for sure.
Sneijder’s comments will either infuriate Reds fans or simply have them bursting out with laughter.
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