Wesley Sneijder feels that Erik ten Hag’s loss in the Manchester United dressing room is not because of the team’s bad performance, his own ineffective strategies, or the discontent of the supporters; rather, he feels that the Dutch manager lost all credibility in the team by “competing” with Cristiano Ronaldo prior to the Portuguese player’s departure.
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After signing in 2021, Ronaldo enjoyed a successful season playing for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick. However, their departures following a disappointing campaign allowed Ten Hag to join the team in the summer of 2022. Under the former Ajax manager’s direction, Ronaldo only appeared in ten Premier League games and scored just once while United battled to get their former star going at Old Trafford before the World Cup break. After Ronaldo was observed refusing to play in a home match against Tottenham, Ten Hag benched him and forced the superstar to practice away from the first squad. After Ronaldo gave an incriminating interview to Piers Morgan that revealed details of his second tenure at the club.
From there, relations were extremely sour and Ronaldo departed the club just eight days after – joining Al-Nassr in the winter window. But Sneijder believes that whilst Ten Hag has suffered hardship this season, it has all stemmed from his banishment of Ronaldo – with his former Real Madrid teammate claiming that the United dressing room “thought he was crazy”.
Sneijder: “Ten Hag Has Lost Everyone’s Respect”
Ten Hag is walking on thin ice with his Manchester United job in the balance.
Speaking to Dutch TV show “Veronica Offside” on Monday evening, Sneijder pinpointed Ronaldo’s exit from the club as Ten Hag’s glaring mistake. He said:
” already made a mistake by competing with Ronaldo. and lost everyone’s respect there. He thought it would work the other way around, but of course not. Those guys in the dressing room thought, “Is this man crazy?’.
Of course he already knows that he has to leave. But you’re not going to go yourself. If I was him, I would sit there comfortably [until he’s sacked].”
Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United Season so Far
Ten Hag’s season at United hasn’t been the simplest thus far. The Red Devils struggled mightily in the league table after losing five of their first ten games; they were as low as eighth at the end of October and at Christmas. Although they had a brief comeback in February, they are no longer able to qualify for the Champions League, and they will also be eliminated early from both the Carabao Cup and the Champions League. As a result, their season hopes are dependent on the FA Cup final against Manchester City at the end of May.
The Red Devils nearly let a 3-0 lead against Coventry slip away, and they only just managed to sneak into the championship game. After the Sky Blues forced penalties and leveled the match, they had come close to winning it themselves in the 121st minute – United fans were left dismayed despite winning the clash on penalties.
It has seen various managers linked with a move to Old Trafford, including former Real Madrid supremo Zinedine Zidane amongst others; though it remains to be seen for now who Sir Jim Ratcliffe could bring in to replace the out-of-sorts Dutch boss.
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