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<\/div>\nErik ten Hag only discovered Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to leave Manchester United when he saw the interview where the Portuguese forward said he had \u201cno respect\u201d for the Dutch manager.<\/p>\n
Ronaldo gave the\u00a0controversial interview\u00a0in November in which the 37-year-old also criticised the club and\u00a0said he \u201cfelt betrayed\u201d.<\/p>\n
The forward has since left United in a\u00a0\u201cmutually agreed\u201d exit.<\/p>\n
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\u201cUntil that moment he never told me \u2018I want to leave\u2019,\u201d said Ten Hag<\/p>\n
Speaking to UK journalists for the first time about Ronaldo\u2019s exit on United\u2019s mid-season trip to Spain, Ten Hag said that once he saw the interview there was no way back for the player.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have seen most of it,\u201d the United manager said. \u201cI have to do it. It is part of my job.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe interview, I think, as a club you can\u2019t accept. To make that step he knew the consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut before he never told me. Until that moment he never told me \u2018I want to leave\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ronaldo did tell Ten Hag he might leave the club in the summer when the transfer window was open after he had been given permission to have extra time off as his family tried to deal with the aftermath of the tragic death of his baby son.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the summer we had one talk,\u201d said Ten Hag.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came in and said \u2018I will tell you in seven days if I want to stay. He came back and said he did. Until that moment [the interview] I never heard anything [else].\u201d<\/p>\n
There are plenty of observers who feel the situation has worked out quite well for Ten Hag.<\/p>\n
His position has been strengthened because the club stood behind him when he dropped Ronaldo for\u00a0refusing to come off the bench\u00a0during the victory against Tottenham in October.<\/p>\n
And now he no longer has to deal with someone capable of generating headlines like no other player in the game, as well as the issue of how to get Ronaldo to carry out his instructions to press high up the pitch.<\/p>\n
However, Ten Hag does not see it like that and wanted Ronaldo to stay.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to work with world-class players,\u201d he said. \u201cI know they can make a difference and help you to achieve your objectives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted him to stay from the first moment until now. I did everything to bring him into the team because I value his quality. We wanted him to be part of our project and for him to contribute to Manchester United because he is a great player and has such a great history.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is also possible a contract extension could have been offered to Ronaldo later in the season had the five-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner indicated a willingness to sign one.<\/p>\n
Ten Hag says he was not against the idea of a new contract. \u201cDefinitely not,\u201d he said. \u201cLast year he scored 24 goals. What does this team need? We need goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ten Hag\u2019s first utterances on the Ronaldo fallout were to United\u2019s in-house TV channel this week and amounted to six words.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s gone and it\u2019s the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even today, it was clear he would prefer not to be talking about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to spend energy on that. It is the past. We want a new future of Manchester United and he didn\u2019t want to be part of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll my accountability is in favour of the club and the team. They are the decisions I have to make and it doesn\u2019t matter which person it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is about how we perform now. I believe our performances will confirm that we are going in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
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