Dutch football coach, Fred Rutten, has said that he was not surprised Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag won the ‘battle’ against forward Cristiano Ronaldo following their spat at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo fell out of favour with Ten Hag and Man United after an explosive interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan just before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
In the interview, the Portugal captain criticized Man United’s outdated training facilities and accused Ten Hag of betraying him.
That led to Man United terminating his contract, and Ronaldo then joined Saudi Arabia club Al-Nassr last December.
Speaking to Voetbal International, Rutten said (via Sport Witness): “He [Erik ten Hag] is a winner. I have always seen a manager in him.
“Before he signed for Manchester United, we had a few chats. ‘How do you deal with big stars?’ He has a plan and in the execution of that plan: if things don’t go as they should, he intervenes.”
“So immediately confront the players. I was not surprised that Erik would come out as the winner [vs Ronaldo].”