English broadcaster Piers Morgan has aimed a massive dig at former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag after the latter admitted Cristiano Ronaldo was never the problem at Old Trafford. Morgan took to X (formerly Twitter) to directly accuse Ten Hag of being the problem at the club.
Cristiano Ronaldo rejoined Manchester United in the summer of 2021, arguably having a successful individual season under Ole Gunnar Solskjær's tutelage. However, following Erik ten Hag's appointment ahead of the 2022-23 season, Ronaldo had a difficult relationship with the Dutchman and was often left out of the starting XI.
Tensions grew, culminating in Ronaldo speaking out against Ten Hag and Manchester United's hierarchy in an interview with Piers Morgan on November 19, 2022. This led to the 40-year-old having his contract mutually terminated by the club three days later.
While Ten Hag went on to help Manchester United win the EFL Cup and FA Cup over the next two seasons, the Red Devils were extremely inconsistent and struggled in the Premier League. He was eventually sacked on October 24, 2024, and was later replaced by Ruben Amorim.
Ten Hag, now managing Bayer Leverkusen, witnessed his side fall to a 2-0 defeat against Chelsea in a pre-season friendly on August 8. Following the game, he was asked if Cristiano Ronaldo was the problem at Manchester United, to which he replied (via ESPN):
"For me he's [Ronaldo] no problem. He was never the problem and I think that's the past. I think it was what happened. It's the past and after that, we won two trophies at Manchester United. I wish him all the best for the for the future and I wish him the best of luck."
However, Morgan mocked the Dutchman, posting on X:
"🤣🤣We know. YOU were the problem."
"I'm sure he would love it if he would be able to see it" - Diogo Dalot admits Cristiano Ronaldo would love major Manchester United change following his comments in 2022
Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot reckons Cristiano Ronaldo would have loved the club's new state-of-the-art first-team complex at their training ground. His comments arrived after Ronaldo slammed the Red Devils' training facilities back in 2022, claiming the club had made zero progress since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
During his interview with Piers Morgan, Cristiano Ronaldo said (via Daily Mirror):
"Nothing changed, surprisingly. Not only the pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym. Even the kitchen, the chefs, whom I appreciate – lovely people. They stopped in time. It surprised me a lot. I thought I would see other things, technologies and infrastructure. Unfortunately, we see a lot of what I used to see at 21, 22 and 23 years old. It really surprised me. Since [Sir Alex] Ferguson left, I haven't seen an evolution at the club. Progress is zero. You have to tear it down and rebuild it."
However, following the changes made by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS, Dalot stated:
"I'm sure he would love it if he would be able to see it. But overall I think the message was clear that this club deserved even more and all credit to Sir Jim and his team."The renovations to the training complex were part of a £236 million investment made by the INEOS ownership during the 2024-25 season.
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Silas has been a European and international football writer at Sportskeeda for 2 years. A Computer Applications graduate, he is a versatile writer who conducts in-depth research and verifies information from multiple sources to ensure complete accuracy in his articles. Silas was introduced to the beautiful game back in 2008, watching the Premier League on television. Silas is a Liverpool supporter through and through and admires everything about the club – it’s history, culture, style of play, and all of its iconic players and managers. His favorite player is Steven Gerrard, who was also one of the primary reasons to get interested in football and support Liverpool. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Jurgen Klopp, who transformed the Reds from a mid-table club to Premier League champions. Liverpool’s fourth goal in their 4-0 win over Barcelona, scored by Divock Origi after the iconic ‘corner taken quickly’ moment from Trent Alexander-Arnold, holds a special place in Silas’ heart. Apart from Europe’s top five leagues, he also follows Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League. When not writing, he indulges in reading, traveling, fitness and gaming.
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