New Delhi: In the wake of the Red Devils’ 2-1 loss to West Ham on Sunday, Ten Hag was fired as head coach of Old Trafford. Given that United is currently in 14th place in the Premier League, it was hardly shocking, and the Dutchman’s struggles extended beyond the field. In a recent story, an event involving Ronaldo that several senior players deemed a “unnecessary humiliation” and outlines the 54-year-old’s difficulties relating to his players.
There have been cases where players have had their bad blood with Erik Ten Hag, including then likes of former players such as Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial while they were at the club. Besides, if we talk about the current United players, Marcus Rashford had his problems with the Dutch manager.
Who could ever forget the rivalry between former Ajax player, Noa Lang and Erik Ten Hag while the duo was at the Dutch club. It was confirmed that Ten Hag didn’t want Lang at the club due to his attitude issues, and back then he was truly backed by the fans as well as the club, that eventually led to Ajax selling Lang to Club Brugge
What happened between Ten Hag and Ronaldo
🚨 When Cristiano Ronaldo was first ordered to train away from Manchester United’s first team by Erik Ten Hag, staff stopped him from entering the dressing room to get his trainers. 🤯🤯
The stand-off only ended after Ronaldo asked an academy player to get them for him.
Several… pic.twitter.com/bwx3xJcvs4
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) October 29, 2024
In October 2022, Ronaldo was disciplined for not substituting for United against Spurs. Ten Hag went one step further after Ronaldo was told by staff that he was not permitted in the dressing room while he attempted to get a pair of trainers. Ronaldo had been kicked out of the squad for United’s next game and forced to train apart from the first team.
Senior players didn’t agree with the whole ban, and the striker had to persuade an academy player to get him into the changing room. This was a humiliating experience for any first team player, much less one of Ronaldo’s calibre.
Was Ten Hag the problem here?
Early on in his career, Ten Hag’s communication skills with his players were questioned. Following their opening losses to Brentford and Brighton, numerous players expressed dissatisfaction at his orders being mistranslated, which caused confusion on the field. One player said Ten Hag didn’t know how to inspire his team after the 4-0 loss against Brentford.
These problems between him and the players truly have caused those uncertainties amongst the fans, aboout how good of a leader could he be for the club. Eventually, it says a lot that the majority of the Manchester United fanbase are actually celebrating his departure, and poor results can evidently not be the sole reason.
