The dismissal of Erik ten Hag as coach of Manchester United caused certain tongues to loosen and they then decided to reveal certain matters which until then had been hushed up. This is particularly the case of the American media ESPNwho returned to an incident involving Cristiano Ronaldo and the Dutch coach, two years before.
The story begins on October 19, 2022, during the 12th day of the Premier League. Manchester faces Tottenham and wins the match with a score of 2-0. As is often the case at the start of the 2022/2023 season, ten Hag made the decision not to start CR7. Still not coming into play in the 89th minute, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner then decided to leave the substitutes’ bench to go straight to the locker room.
In response to this affront, ten Hag punishes his attacker, who is banned from collective training – a relatively common measure in this type of standoff between a coach and a player. But the matter does not end there: when Cristiano tries to go to the locker room to retrieve a pair of crampons, the technical staff refuses him access. This is the last straw. A few weeks later, the Portuguese international left the club for good and immediately joined Al-Nassr.
