Erik ten Hag sought 'conflict' with Cristiano Ronaldo & Jadon Sancho at Man Utd to 'gain respect through fear', claims Raphael Varane

Ronaldo left the Red Devils under a cloud in November 2022 following an interview in which he criticised the Dutch coach and the club. Meanwhile, Sancho's situation at the club deteriorated after Ten Hag criticised him in public, leading to the England international retaliating on social media and then being banished from the squad before he was eventually loaned to Chelsea this year.

Ex-United defender Raphael Varane was also exiled for a period following a "robust discussion" before he left the club as a free agent last summer, and the Frenchman believes Ten Hag tends to seek out trouble with some of his players.

Varane told The Athletic that Ten Hag tried to "gain respect through fear", citing the Ronaldo and Sancho sagas as examples, and added: “He always needed an example of a player who was alone the entire time he was at Manchester. He did that with at least one important player on the team. He was always in conflict with certain leaders of the group. That is his way of managing.”

Ten Hag was sacked by United back in October after a dismal start to the season and is yet to make a return to the game. Under new coach Ruben Amorim, the Old Trafford club have dropped to 15th in the Premier League ahead of their weekend clash against Everton.