Man United's decision to replace Cristiano Ronaldo with Wout Weghorst is 'one of the worst in football history,' says Piers Morgan

Piers Morgan has claimed that Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag made the “worst” decision in history by replacing Cristiano Ronaldo with Wout Weghorst.

Ronaldo made his shock exit from Old Trafford last November after openly criticising his ex-United teammates, Ten Hag and the Glazer family in a scathing interview.

The 38-year-old Portuguese forward went on to sign a lucrative contract with Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr and has since found his footing in Saudi Arabia.

Ronaldo, who is under contract with Al Nassr until 2025, has now registered two assists and scored an impressive 11 times in 11 appearances for his current side.

The Portugal star scored a brace for Al Nassr in his side’s 5-0 thumping of Saudi Pro League club Al Adalah at the Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Stadium on Tuesday.

Weghorst arrived at Old Trafford in the January transfer window after his loan spell with Turkish side Besiktas was cancelled, with United paying a £3m loan fee.

The 30-year-old Netherlands striker has been met with criticism since his move to United, with former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys ruthlessly tearing into him.

Weghorst, who is on loan from Burnley, has only scored twice and registered two assists in 19 appearances for United after replacing Ronaldo at Old Trafford.

Following Ronaldo’s brace against Al Adalah, Morgan took to social media and called Ten Hag’s decision to “dump” the Al Nassr star for Weghorst “one of the worst in football history.”

“Two more goals for [Ronaldo] so far tonight, including this superb one which once again suggests Ten Hag’s decision to dump him for Wout Weghorst was one of the worst in football history,” he tweeted.

Ten Hag has staunchly defended Weghorst after Gary Neville criticised the Burnley loanee for his performance in Newcastle’s 2-0 win at St James’ Park on Sunday.

“I also saw another comment from Gary Neville when he reflected on the performance of Wout and that with Wout we are quite successful,” he said.

“And I think that is the evidence, so that is what I can say about that. I am happy with him because he is doing a great job for this team.”

READ MORE:

• QUIZ: Can you name team from Cristiano Ronaldo’s first international start for Portugal?
• Wout Weghorst has brought ‘more profit’ to Man United than Cristiano Ronaldo, says Gary Neville
• Cristiano Ronaldo’s issues with Man United training facilities were known by club back in 2015