Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United have been on a blazing run of form in recent times post the World Cup having won the Carabao Cup recently while also progressing in the Europa League after defeating FC Barcelona in the Round of 32.
But ten Hag’s time at United hasn’t been only fairytale as the manager endured some huge upsets at the start of the season to Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford before his first win came at Old Trafford against Liverpool.
Erik ten Hag had famously left Cristiano Ronaldo out of that game and when he was recently asked how he felt about the decision, he confessed that he was not worrying about it and had no problem sleeping after making the decision as he thought that it was better for the club at the time.
🚨🚨🎙️| Erik ten Hag on Ronaldo’s departure: “I am not worrying. I sleep well also in those nights. I stand by my decision.” [mu]
— centredevils. (@centredevils) March 4, 2023
He said: “I am not worrying. I sleep well also in those nights. I have to take the decisions in respect in advance of the club and the team. That is my job and that is the responsibility I have to take and I have to stand for those decisions.”
This axing of Ronaldo from the first XI for such a huge game accelerated in the coming months as the Portuguese was left out of the team for another important game against Chelsea after he refused to come on as a substitute in a game against Tottenham Hotspurs.
Ronaldo has been dropped from the United squad vs Chelsea by Ten Hag. #mufc
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) October 20, 2022
5-time Ballon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, soon had his contract terminated with Manchester United after he did an explosive interview with Piers Morgan in which he called out the owners, the board, and Erik ten Hag of disrespecting him.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s strained relationship with Erik ten Hag
The question about Cristiano Ronaldo’s relationship was one of the first to be asked as soon as Man Utd announced ten Hag as their manager last summer as the Portuguese was rumored to be on his way out after United failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Erik ten Hag called Ronaldo an important member of his team from day 1 as he talked about his plans for the forward but the relationship started straining soon as ten Hag dropped Ronaldo from playing XI for important matches against Liverpool and Tottenham.
Cristiano Ronaldo says he doesn’t respect Erik ten Hag 🤯 pic.twitter.com/r5ZV9IE6LI
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 13, 2022
Ronaldo left Old Trafford before the final whistle in a game against Rayo Vallecano before refusing to come on as a late substitute against Tottenham. This didn’t go well with the Dutch manager who handed Ronaldo a one-match suspension for indiscipline.
This led to Ronaldo doing a tell-all interview with Piers Morgan where he stated that he didn’t respect ten Hag because the manager failed to show respect for the 5-time UCL winner.
The drama finally ended in late November after both United and Cristiano agreed to terminate the contract mutually and the Portuguese later joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr in a $200m per year contract.
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