Diogo Dalot responds to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s claim five Man United stars are either ‘not good enough or overpaid’

Diogo Dalot insists Manchester United are finally showing progress under Ruben Amorim, ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash against Leicester City.

‘I think you are now seeing a much better team than a couple of months ago,’ said Dalot. ‘I think it’s clear, When we talk about needing time, we aren’t saying that just to buy time. Obviously, it’s difficult when you play for a club like this because you must improve by always winning. 

‘The pressure is always high to win every game and when the results don’t come, it is difficult to show progress. But I think in the last couple of games, you have seen something different. There have been different styles of play, but overall we are improving. It’s something everyone can see – but results will ultimately show our position.’

Asked about Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments that some of his teammates were ‘not good enough’ and ‘overpaid’, Dalot stressed that it was up to the players to take responsibility.

‘Ultimately this club will progress through what we do on the pitch, so we are all responsible for the future and the momentum of the club,’ he said. ‘We know that we have that responsibility but we want to take it. 

‘The pressure is high but we are Manchester United players for a reason. We want to change things ourselves. It is clear that when you are 14th in the league, we are not doing what we should, so we want to change that. If we want to put Manchester United back on top we need to do much better,’ added the Portuguese international.

Dalot also issued a response to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s claim five stars at the club are either ‘not good enough or overpaid’

And Dalot, who has been at United since 2018 and worked under seven different managers, stressed that this time around, the desire for transformation within the club feels different.

‘You can see this is a period of change, especially since INEOS have come in,’ he said. ‘You can see there’s a different approach in terms of building a new structure around the club. It’s clear. Everybody sees it and whether you like it or not, you can see some changes – and it’s something different that we haven’t seen before. So you can see that the club wants to go in a direction where they want to rebuild Manchester Utd and put Manchester Utd back on top. So I hope in the next couple of years, we can go there.’

Meanwhile, Mason Mount is set to be on the bench for United against Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side, with Amorim confirming that the 26-year-old could make his return to action after three months out with a hamstring injury. Mount returned to training earlier this week.