Erik ten Hag says he's 'lost no sleep' over axing Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United

Erik ten Hag says he hasn't lost any sleep over his decision to jettison Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United earlier this season.

United are a club reborn under the Dutch manager, having won the Carabao Cup last weekend to end a six-year trophy drought, while they're still competing on three other fronts to chase an astonishing quadruple.

It is a remarkable turnaround for the club, who were in the doldrums last season after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sacking and the disastrous interim appointment of Ralf Rangnick.

Ten Hag insisted that every decision he's made at Old Trafford is for "advancing the club" and that includes the decision to terminate Ronaldo's contract, after the striker's controversial mid-season interview with Piers Morgan in which he claimed the club had betrayed him.

ln a recent press conference, Ten Hag addressed the Ronaldo issue. United have barely put a foot wrong since they let the striker leave – he later joined Saudi Arabia Pro League side Al-Nassr – and Ten Hag's men have lost just once in 22 matches since Ronaldo's final game for the club on November 6th, a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

"I had reasons and I also knew the consequence if it was a negative outcome," the United boss reflected.

"But I am not worrying and I sleep well in those nights. I have to take decisions in respect of advancing the club.

"I have to see and face the consequences, the impact of the decisions."

Erik ten Hag Ronaldo

Ten Hag was also asked if there was a discpline problem when he arrived at United, something Rangnick alluded to during his spell in charge.

"There was — and I don’t have to lie about it," he said. "Top players like structure, not only on the pitch, so you need some rules.

"In every organisation when there are no rules and discipline in taking the rules seriously, you create a mess.

"It was quite obvious because I could see on the pitch what was going on."

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Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Erik Ten Hag, Manchester United, Football

Dominic Booth

Dominic is a freelance journalist for SportBible who also works for the Evening Standard and Sporting News and was formerly a Manchester United writer and editor for the MEN. He's a big Test cricket fan and Arctic Monkeys obsessive.

@DomBooth19