Ronaldo’s Ten Hag snub highlights deteriorating Man Utd relationship
Robin Bairner
- 13 Aug 2022 21:36 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo snubbed Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag following his side’s incredible 4-0 defeat against Brentford on Saturday, casting further doubt on the Portuguese striker’s happiness at the club.
Throughout the summer, Ronaldo has been linked with a transfer away from the Old Trafford side, although Ten Hag insisted in his Friday press conference that the player is not telling him that he wants to leave.
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There has been tension simmering between the pair all summer. Firstly, Ten Hag was blindsided by Ronaldo not showing for pre-season training when expected, then when he finally did return, he walked out of the Man Utd dressing room midway through a friendly against Rayo Vallecano.
The club tried to brush off the incident by suggesting that Ronaldo and his other team-mates who departed early – Diogo Dalot is known to have left, too – were given permission, but this was spectacularly denied by Ten Hag when he stated the behaviour was “unacceptable”.
Ronaldo storms off
Ronaldo was left unhappy again when he did not start the 2-1 defeat by Brighton last weekend, but thrust into the starting XI at the Brentford Community Stadium, he was powerless to stop Man Utd slumping to an embarrassing 4-0 defeat.
🤬 Angry Ronaldo snubs Ten Hagpic.twitter.com/wFI3tck1ci
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 13, 2022
This loss was alarming on many levels, but the manner in which the striker behaved should offer red flags to the management of the club.
Ronaldo stopped off the pitch, clearly unhappy with life, but did at least offer his hand to a succession of team-mates, coaches and opponents. When it came to Ten Hag, though, he simply did not glance at the manager. Indeed, the feeling appeared distinctly mutual, with the Dutchman simply standing statuesque, staring into the distance.
Taken in isolation, it would be easy to brush such an incident off as a misunderstanding, but given the history of tension between Ronaldo and Ten Hag, it is another suggestion that there is a growing rift between the two.
