Jamie Carragher defends Erik ten Hag for getting rid of Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has praised Erik ten Hag for how he handled Cristiano Ronaldo's second spell at Manchester United.

Ten Hag, who was fired on Monday by Man United following their dismal start to the 2024/25 season, was the man in charge who oversaw Ronaldo's departure after his dramatic return in the summer of 2021. Returning to Old Trafford years after he departed to join Real Madrid, Ronaldo's second stint with United was a statistical success individually, but a disastrous one collectively.

The Portuguese forward bagged 24 goals in 38 games, but United finished sixth. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired in November, with Ralf Rangnick coming in to replace him as United's interim boss until the end of the season.

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The following summer, Ten Hag took over, joining United from Ajax. The Dutchman however had decided Ronaldo would not fit into his system, which eventually culminated in the legendary forward publicly criticizing the club in an interview with Piers Morgan. Following the interview, United terminated Ronaldo's contact, leading him to move over to the Saudi Pro League to join Al-Nassr.

That wasn't the only disagreement Ten Hag had during his United tenure with one of his players, with the former boss also falling out with Jadon Sancho too. However, following his firing as United boss, Carragher told Sky Sports' Vicky Gomersall Ten Hag was right to handle the Ronaldo and Sancho situations the way he did.

Gomersall said: "What did you make of his man management because obviously he fell out with Cristiano Ronaldo, that was almost the first thing that happened there under his tenure. We saw the very public falling out with Jadon Sancho, what did you make of how he was dealing with his players?"

"Well I don't know what goes on in the dressing room at Manchester United but in those two situations, Erik ten Hag was right," said Carragher.

He continued: "I mean, when they won a game away at Fulham and scored a last minute winner and it was a great moment for Manchester United in his first season, Cristiano Ronaldo was doing an interview with Piers Morgan slaughtering the club, slaughtering the manager.

"So he was well within his rights and any manager, including Sir Alex Ferguson would have done exactly the same and booted Ronaldo out of the club for that because that was not acceptable. And Manchester United fans know that was right. With Jadon Sancho, again, he was right."

Liverpool.com says: Jamie Carragher was right to praise Erik ten Hag for how he handled the Cristiano Ronaldo saga. If Manchester United had their time again, we suspect they wouldn't have re-signed Ronaldo back in 2021. It was a move which completely altered the dynamic of then manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, leaving the then United boss to have to try and fit Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba all into the same side - which of course went horrendously when they ended up finishing sixth.