Erik ten Hag and Cristiano Ronaldo had an uneasy relationship at United

If Erik ten Hag had settled into his seat on the flight back from London 10 days ago and watched the first clips of Cristiano Ronaldo's explosive interview with Piers Morgan, he would have known that this moment was going to come, and he would have been prepared for it.

When Ten Hag found out that Ronaldo had given an unauthorized interview, his first question would have been, "Who is Piers?" His second question would have been, "How do we put an end to this once and for all?"

Ten Hag has spent a disproportionately large portion of his time at Manchester United so far dealing with Ronaldo. The 37-year-old has been the focal point of every press conference, whether for positive or negative reasons, and his presence has cast a long shadow over everything the club's most recent manager has attempted to accomplish.

Ronaldo has been nothing but a problem for his new manager, from the moment that his camp made it clear that he wanted to leave Old Trafford on the eve of Ten Hag's first day of pre-season training to the moment that he refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham to the moment that he gave this extraordinary interview.

But this was always going to be the last thing that pushed me over the edge. The decision to bring Ronaldo's time at the club to an end was confirmed to have had significant input from Ten Hag, according to our sources. It was impossible for him to let that person ruin the unity he had worked so hard to cultivate in the locker room.

Although there was a time when his goalscoring record was so impressive that you could overlook his ego and selfishness, the three goals that he has scored so far this season are hardly deserving of the special treatment that the forward for Portugal has continually demanded. When I spoke to Morgan, he claimed that he was too good to play only three minutes against Spurs, but the truth is that he has hardly been too good for anyone else this season.

This season, Manchester United have appeared to be a better team when Ronaldo has not been playing up front for them, and he has found that to be a challenge to deal with. It takes unwavering confidence in one's abilities to reach the level that Ronaldo has reached, but it's difficult to come to terms with the fact that other people have lost faith in one's abilities when one's own faith has been shaken. The evidence of that was shown on Talk TV on Wednesday and Thursday night a week ago.

Ten Hag has observed that his team performs better with a more fluid front line, and that his principles are more closely aligned with Anthony Martial or Marcus Rashford as the focal point for his attack. This has led him to realize that his principles are more closely aligned with Anthony Martial or Marcus Rashford. The Dutchman understood that he needed to stop treating United with kid gloves after their performance in his second game in charge, which was a 4-0 loss to Brentford. It was time to establish some ground rules for his side, and in a sense, that devastating loss provided him with a fresh start. For Ronaldo, it was the first step toward the end of his career.

The challenge that Ten Hag has been facing is putting together a new squad despite the fact that he is carrying the weight of one of the game's most famous players of the modern era. Throughout the entirety of this season, there has been a nagging feeling that they simply do not see eye to eye, a feeling that was unequivocally confirmed one week ago.

Ten Hag dealt with Ronaldo's petulant walkout against Tottenham very well, but in hindsight, perhaps that should have been the end of their relationship. The decision to hand over the captaincy to him 18 days later appears to have been a poor one in retrospect.

But from this point forward, Ronaldo is not going to be a concern of anyone. Ten Hag expressed interest in working with Ronaldo at the beginning of the previous summer, but by the time the transfer window closed, he would have been content for Ronaldo to leave the club. The problem was that, despite all of the player's boasting from the previous week, the club was only presented with an offer from Saudi Arabia.

Even before Ronaldo took the nuclear option, there was a sense that this most delicate of truces couldn't be sustained beyond the month of January. This was especially the case if Martial was back in shape and ready to be involved in each and every game by that time.

In spite of the fact that Ronaldo's interview was both unenlightening and superfluous, Ten Hag was able to benefit from it. He is the most fortunate person in this situation. The relationship between Manchester United and one of their all-time greatest players has been irreparably tainted, and Cristiano Ronaldo still needs to convince other clubs that it is worthwhile to take a chance on him.

This is day one for Ten Hag. Day zero. In spite of Ronaldo's presence, he was able to make significant strides both at Carrington and at Old Trafford. Now that the circus is over, he is able to exert a greater amount of control over that dressing room, allowing him to cultivate a style of play that every member of the squad is on board with. He has eliminated a negative presence that was still having a significant impact on some of the players, particularly the more junior members of the locker room, and he has done this.

When Ronaldo invited Morgan into his home and gave permission for the interview to take place, he almost certainly was aware of what he was getting himself into. This year, Ten Hag has been very vocal about the importance of maintaining a strong sense of team spirit and unity, and his track record at Ajax indicates that he will not tolerate any players who attempt to undermine that. It would be impossible for anyone to make it through, not even Ronaldo.

After the news of the interview broke the previous week, Ten Hag logged on to a high-level meeting at United with Joel Glazer, Richard Arnold, and John Murtough from Nyon, where he was attending a UEFA summit for coaches. Also present at the meeting were John Murtough and Richard Arnold. The user manuals provide no guidance on how to handle situations like the one experienced by the 52-year-old, but she has emerged unscathed from the ordeal.

After Ronaldo's interview, there was a consensus among the four that there was no turning back for Ronaldo and that there was no other option. The fact that he will leave the club without receiving any further compensation demonstrates that United have handled the departure effectively, which has resulted in a savings of £16 million for the club.

It is possible that in the future, the history of Ronaldo and United will once again center on the goals and the glory, the particularly memorable moments from his first spell, and the sight of a player as exhilarating as the No. 7 doing his thing while wearing the red of United. But for the time being, all that can be felt is a sense of melancholy regarding the manner in which it has come to an end.

Despite all of the publicity, all of the fanfare, and all of the romantic nostalgia surrounding Ronaldo's return to Portugal, the decision to re-sign him during the previous summer always appeared to be a risky one. Indeed, this was the case. Perhaps both United and Ronaldo should have adhered more closely to the adage that they should never return.

At this point, at least, Ten Hag has something to look forward to.