Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag accuses Ronaldo of stabbing him in the back after private conversation

Erik ten Hag has opened up about his injury after being stabbed in the back by Cristiano Ronaldo as he left Old Trafford. The Manchester United manager has revealed the striker never had the decency to tell him he wanted out, first learning while watching Ronaldo's explosive interview.

And despite emerging from the messy divorce with his own position strengthened, the Dutchman insisted he never intended to force the striker out. Speaking at United's winter training base in Jerez, Ten Hag strongly criticized Ronaldo's handling of the situation.

When he first learned that the Portuguese striker was on his way, he replied: "Until this point in the interview, I never heard anything. In the summer we had a conversation. He came in and said "I'll tell you in seven days if I want to stay". Then he came back and said "I want to stay".

Ronaldo flagged his exit in an interview with Piers Morgan no TalkTV saying he had "zero respect" for Ten Hag. The club terminated his contract six days later. "The interview, I think as a club you can't accept it," Ten Hag said. “There will be consequences. To take this step, he knew the consequences, but before that, he had never told me. »

Ten Hag and Ronaldo have been at odds since the summer over the striker's role on the sidelines, a tension that came to a head when he refused to continue as a late substitute against Tottenham in October. But the Dutchman insisted he never wanted to turn their fight into a power struggle or force the striker out of the club.

"It wasn't my goal. It looks like it, but it wasn't my goal," he said. Manchester United because he is a great player.

"He has such a great story, but that's the past and we have to look to the future and so I don't waste my energy on that. When he's fit he's a good player and he could help us bounce back and achieve the goals we set for ourselves. That's very clear. But he wasn't.

"I wanted him to stay from the first moment until now. He wanted to leave, that was pretty clear. And when a player absolutely does not want to be at this club, then he has to go, clear.< /p>

"I did everything in an honest, open and transparent way and we had discussions about my vision, so I have no problem talking to him.

"I would have preferred it to be another way because I wanted to work with him. But he chose another path."