Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly sent a scathing message to Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi following the French club's Champions League final triumph over Arsenal on Saturday evening.
According to French publication L'Equipe, the former Manchester United manager texted Al-Khelaifi to offer his congratulations whilst delivering a withering assessment of the Gunners' performance in Budapest.
The message allegedly read: "Nasser, this is Alex Ferguson. Well done, it was a tough night for you, but you played against a boring team that did nothing but defend. Enjoy your holidays, you deserve it."
Ferguson, who lifted European football's biggest prize twice during his time at Old Trafford, appeared unimpressed by Mikel Arteta's tactical approach.
Sir Alex Ferguson blasted Arsenal's tactics in a text to Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi
|REUTERS
Kai Havertz had given the Premier League champions the perfect start, finding the net with an emphatic finish inside the opening six minutes at the Puskas Arena.
Rather than pressing their advantage, Arsenal retreated into a defensive shell, inviting Luis Enrique's side to break them down.
The holders eventually found their breakthrough midway through the second half when Ousmane Dembele converted from the penalty spot after Cristhian Mosquera fouled Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the box.
With nothing separating the teams after extra time, the contest went to penalties where Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhaes both failed to convert, handing PSG a 4-3 shootout victory and their second successive European crown.
The statistics from the final painted a damning picture of Arsenal's approach in Hungary.
Arteta's side managed less than 25 per cent of possession across the full 120 minutes of action.
PSG beat Arsenal on penalties on Saturday to lift the Champions League for the second successive season | REUTERSPerhaps most strikingly, Havertz's early strike proved to be their sole effort on target throughout the entire contest.
Former Scotland international Craig Burley was critical of the Gunners' tactics, telling ESPN: "Let's lay it out on the table, when they scored after six minutes, they tried to defend their way to the 90th minute."
He added: "Three times from a kick-off they've lobbed it forward like it was a game of rugby. That's embarrassing. That's 1980s football back in England."
Gabriel missed in the penalty shootout as PSG beat Arsenal to win the Champions League | GETTYPSG midfielder Joao Neves offered his own pointed assessment of Arsenal's performance following the Ligue 1 champions' victory.
"The emotion is there. It's the second time I've been a European champion. It's not even the victory itself that pleases me, but playing with such teammates, this staff, and this management," he said.
"Coming here was the best decision I've ever made. I love everything here. We deserved it today, because PSG were the only team that wanted to play."
Al-Khelaifi was more gracious towards the defeated finalists, describing Arsenal as a "great team, fantastic team" whilst wishing them well.