Ten Hag: 'Ronaldo is in the past'
"I don't talk about the past. Let's talk about the future," Ten Hag replied after the win at Molineux, when asked about Ronaldo's new destination.
The Dutch coach had many conflicts with Ronaldo, in the first half of the year he took over the hot seat at Old Trafford. He pushed Ronaldo to the bench for missing pre-season, explaining that he was not used in the 3-6 loss to Man City out of "respect" and fined for leaving early against Tottenham. In response, on November 13, Ronaldo publicly criticized Ten Hag and Man Utd in a 90-minute chat on Piers Morgan Uncensored. More than a week later, the Old Trafford owner decided to terminate the contract half a year early with the 37-year-old player.
On December 31, Ronaldo announced the signing of a contract until June 2025, with the highest salary in the world $ 75 million per year, with Al Nassr. If you add advertising and sponsorship, the Portuguese striker can earn up to 200 million USD per year.
After parting with Ronaldo, Man Utd won all three matches in all competitions, scoring six and conceding no goals. They beat Burnley 2-0 in the round of 16 of the English League Cup and then Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the 17th round of the Premier League. Yesterday, in the final match of 2022, Man Utd won 1-0 at Wolves thanks to the striker coming to replace Marcus Rashford.
"I think Man Utd is on the right track," commented Ten Hag. "Today, Man Utd created many chances and kept keeping clean sheets. It showed that Man Utd can defend very disciplined, very difficult to beat, and need to develop. We also have many threats. on the front line, who can make a difference."
However, the 52-year-old coach was not satisfied with the performance against Wolves, especially in the first half. At that time, Man Utd held the ball 54%, shot seven times with two shots on target. The best opportunity belonged to Alejandro Garnacho, but the 18-year-old striker could not beat goalkeeper Jose Sa in the face-to-face position. Earlier, Casemiro had cut a header after Christian Eriksen's corner, but smashed a Wolves defender out.
"We created chances but couldn't score," commented Ten Hag. "At half-time, I reminded the players that you won't win without a change of attitude. They have to try at least 10% more. Man Utd should have scored in the first half, but we also have to be ready, wise and decisive. The performance of the whole team in the second half was better."
Victory over Wolves helped Man Utd rise to fourth in the Premier League with 32 points, two points behind Newcastle, but played one game less. In the next round, the army under Ten Hag returned to Old Trafford's home ground to receive Bournemouth on January 3.
