It’s tough as a player to really succeed at Manchester United: Christian Eriksen
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Denmark's Christian Eriksen looking dejected after a World Cup qualifying loss to Scotland at Hampden Park in Glasgow on Nov 18, 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – Christian Eriksen has highlighted why it is “tough as a player to really succeed” at his former club Manchester United, and suggested some of manager Ruben Amorim’s comments last season did not help matters.
The Danish midfielder played for the Red Devils from 2022 to 2025, including under Amorim last season, before joining VfL Wolfsburg on a free transfer in the summer.
During his spell at the club, where he played 107 matches, he won the League Cup and FA Cup and reached the Europa League final.
Speaking to The Times ahead of his former club’s Premier League clash with bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers on Dec 30, the 33-year-old said: “The main thing at United is just the perception of how you have to play... because everything you do is compared to who was there before.
“So any position, you’ll be like, ‘Oh yeah, now we have Casemiro but you have to compare him to Roy Keane,’ or, ‘We had (Robin) van Persie here, so this striker now has to be able to do this’.
“You bring all that history with you, you have to follow up what was there before and change that or make it better, which, of course, is almost impossible when you win (the title) eight out of 11 years in the Premier League.
“So that puts a lot of pressure on the players and then, obviously, when you get into a situation where you change a lot of managers, a lot of structures, then yeah, it’s tough as a player to really succeed.”
Sixth-placed United have been more successful this term than they were last season, when they finished 15th in the Premier League, their worst placing since they were relegated in 1973-74.
Last campaign, Amorim famously dubbed his side as “maybe the worst” in Red Devils history.
On that remark, Eriksen said: “I don’t think that helped the players at all.
“Some stuff you can say inside and it’s not too clever to say outside, to put extra pressure and put an extra label on the players who were already trying to do their best...
“Then if he’s right or wrong, whatever, but I think for us it was a bit of like, ‘Oh, here we go again. Another headline’.”
United will be hoping for happier headlines when they host a woeful Wolves side who are on two points from 18 games and are on the longest winless start in Premier League history.
The all-time English record for a top-flight winless start is held by Bolton Wanderers, who failed to win any of their first 22 games in 1902-03. Unsurprisingly, they finished last and were relegated from the First Division.
Wolves will be without winger Rodrigo Gomes, defender and captain Toti Gomes and midfielders Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Marshall Munetsi through injury, while centre-back Emmanuel Agbadou is at the Africa Cup of Nations.
United also have attackers Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo, as well as defender Noussair Mazraoui out in Morocco. They also have injury issues with midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo out, while Mason Mount is a doubt.
Centre-backs Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire are also not fit yet.
