The altercation with Cristiano Ronaldo and the fallout that followed turns out to be the most notable storyline of Erik ten Hag’s tenure as Utd manager.
In his first year in charge of Man United, ten Hag faced off against the most prominent player on the roster and emerged victorious, demonstrating that he was not someone who should be considered naive. In light of this, some old comments made by Edinson Cavani have just been brought to light, and they could provide a reason as to why Ten Hag was so eager to part ways with Ronaldo.
During an interview in May of 2016, Edinson Cavani revealed, “Knowing a little about the world of football these days, the first thing I did was call my brother [Walter Fernando Guglielmone, who also acts as his agent] and said: “Fernando, if this had happened a week ago, I would ask you to find me another club.”
“But it wasn’t because I didn’t want to share the field with Cristiano Ronaldo. No. Because I had the privilege of getting to know him, and he is an excellent professional who is focused on his goals, which is an ideal trait for a sportsman to have. Yet as a result of my many years spent playing football, I am familiar with how things are done these days. That is why I had a conversation with my sibling.”
“It was more about having a good grasp of the circumstances. It’s not that I was unable to play in my role at Manchester; rather, it’s because there are many things in football now that are different from how they were with other people, how they were in the past, and how they were in years past. And because it took place so unexpectedly, I experienced no sensation. I reasoned: We’ll play, and we’ll give it our best shot.”
Cavani was one of the first players to feel the impact of Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford. The Uruguayan international was gracious enough to give up the number seven shirt for the former Real Madrid player.
Cavani may come to regret leaving in the same summer that Ten Hag arrived, considering that the Dutchman does not subscribe to the premise that Ronaldo needs to start every game and play every minute of every game. Cavani left in the summer that Ten Hag arrived.
On the other hand, while Ten Hag was in charge of the Premier League, Ronaldo appeared in the league a total of only ten times and played the full 90 minutes on no more than three occasions.
It is be that the most remarkable aspect is how well Manchester United are doing without Ronaldo. After ending his contract, the Red Devils have gone from strength to strength, and they currently find themselves in third place in the table, just five points behind the first place team.
Marcus Rashford has done a good job leading the team in the absence of the Portugal captain, and finally, it seems like United are on the right track as Ten Hag works to return them to their old glory.