Steve McClaren explains why Erik ten Hag was right to axe Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United | OneFootball

Former Manchester United coach Steve McClaren has given his verdict on Erik ten Hag’s handling of Cristiano Ronaldo after the multiple Ballon d’Or winner decided to quit the club in 2022.

The Ronaldo saga hasn’t completely gone away because it stills grabs the media’s attention. Piers Morgan probably plans for anniversary interviews, allowing Ronaldo to rest his ego on that enormous forehead.

Ronaldo has even taken to YouTube himself since, despite being under pressure with the high standards in the Saudi Pro League. It didn’t take him long to use the platform to slam his former manager yet again.

On Rio Ferdinand’s podcast, Ronaldo said: “The coach, they say they cannot compete to win the League and Champions League. (As) Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the League or Champions League.

“You have to be, to mentally say, listen, maybe we don’t have that potential, but I cannot say that. We’re going to try. You have to try.”

So, with that, we are going to get more commentary on the topic.

McClaren, who has since left United to take charge of the Jamaica national team, insists that Ten Hag adopted the right approach with Cristiano Ronaldo despite the spectacular breakdown in their relationship.

Speaking to The Telegraph, McClaren said: “I couldn’t fault his [Ten Hag’s] approach. He really handled it very well. I said at the time he was the right man to go in. That was shown in the way he handled [the departure of] Ronaldo.

“He [Ten Hag] came in with set standards. Set rules. Set way of playing. And if you didn’t run, you didn’t play. He was rigid on that. Which the Dutch are. He knew that was what was needed. There could be no flexibility, no way the players could manoeuvre [out of that responsibility].

“This is what you had to do – or you didn’t play. And he took on Ronaldo, and quite rightly. Other managers have tried to adapt. Erik didn’t feel it was necessary to do that. [Ralf] Rangnick had tried and it hadn’t quite worked out and Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] the same. So he [Ten Hag] stuck to his guns and developed other players.”

Ten Hag must be given the licence to get the standards he sets across the squad and if someone, like Ronaldo, doesn’t play ball it’s time to get them out of the club.

Ronaldo learned the hard way and thought he would walk into another top European club, playing in the Champions League, to boast about more records in Europe’s biggest competition.

The Europa League has more acclaim than the Saudi Pro League.

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