(Football news) Erik ten Hag has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t inform him about his desire to leave the club and the first time he came to know about it was during Piers Morgan’s interview. Ronaldo’s contract with Manchester United was terminated last month by mutual consent after the 37 year old said he felt “betrayed” by the club for forcing him to leave and had “zero respect” for Ten Hag. 

“I wanted him to stay from the first moment until now. He wanted to leave, it was quite clear. And when a player definitely doesn’t want to be in this club then he has to go. The interview was the first time he said he wanted to leave. I think as a club you can’t accept that. There will be consequences. To make that step, [to do the interview] he knew the consequences. Before he [had] never told me. During the season there was no transfer window, but until that moment he never told me ‘I want to leave’. 

“In the summer we had one talk. He came in and said, ‘I will tell you in seven days if I want to stay’. Then he came back and said, ‘I want to stay’. Until that moment [the interview] I never heard anything. We wanted him to be part of our project, [for] him to contribute to Manchester United, because he is a great player. He has such a great history, but it’s in the past and we have to look into the future.” – Erik ten Hag to UK media in Cadiz, Spain

Ronaldo didn’t get enough playing time during the season so far, which resulted in the player getting frustrated at the lack of opportunities. He refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur in October and Ten Hag had previously said that Ronaldo was not in the optimal physical condition to perform. 

“I liked to work with world class players. I know they can make a difference and help you to achieve your objectives. That is why you want to have such players in your dressing room. But what happened, happened. I have to make choices around players who are not performing and pick the best team. My accountability is in favour of the club and the team. They are the decisions I have to make. It doesn’t matter who the person is, it is about how we perform now.” – Erik ten Hag