sport news Cristiano Ronaldo: Man Utd star hitting the self-destruct button is a GOOD ... trends now
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Once the initial anger and feeling of, yes, genuine betrayal had subsided, Erik ten Hag's overriding emotion would have been one of relief.
The game is up. Drop the facade. No more pretending all is well in the marriage between Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo. The player's tell-all interview with Piers Morgan has seen to that.
Possibly the only undisputed fact to come out of it is that Ten Hag never really wanted Ronaldo in the first place. It was the club's American owners who were in favour of keeping him last summer, not United's executives on the ground at Old Trafford or Ten Hag and his coaching staff.
Cristiano Ronaldo hit out at Erik ten Hag and Man United in a bombshell interview on Sunday
But this is a good thing for Ten Hag, who can finally move on from the 37-year-old in January
Ronaldo wanted to go and Ten Hag wanted him to go, for the same reason Thomas Tuchel passed on taking him to Chelsea. At the age of 37, one of the greatest players ever to grace the game could not meet the physical demands of either coach. He had become a very expensive luxury.
It would have been better for Ronaldo to leave then, and goodness knows his agent Jorge Mendes tried to sell him. But the only firm offer arrived from Saudi Arabia, which tells its own story.
In that sense, Ronaldo's decision to force his United career beyond the point of no return is no bad thing for Ten Hag. The Dutchman can move on with the squad he wants and sign a replacement in January free of the circus that surrounds United's iconic No 7.
From the moment Ten Hag walked through the door at Old Trafford, the Ronaldo issue has hung over United's manager like a bad smell. From Bangkok to Brentford, he has fielded awkward questions about the Portuguese star for months
