Revealed: The issues Man Utd trio Cristiano Ronaldo, Casemiro and Raphael Varane had with Erik ten Hag's training methods

The Portuguese superstar completed a sensational return to Old Trafford in the summer of 2021, but saw his contract ripped up less than 18 months later as he was released as a free agent and ultimately made his way to the Saudi Pro League to link up with Al-Nassr.

An explosive interview, in which he took aim at prominent figures from United’s past and present, sealed Ronaldo’s fate – but professional relationships had been strained for some time. That is because the all-time great did not see eye-to-eye with Dutch tactician Ten Hag.

According to The Athletic, Ronaldo took issue with the demands made of him in training – which were intended to be transferred onto the pitch. Ten Hag wanted CR7 to press from the front, with two direct runs – chasing the first defender and then the goalkeeper before dropping back into shape – explained to him. Ronaldo reportedly made minimal effort to follow those instructions on the practice field.

Ronaldo is said to have favoured his own approach as Ten Hag’s request “was not the best use of his abilities or the way to win matches”. He is not the only player to have questioned the methods of a manager struggling to win over a star-studded squad, with Raphael Varane and Casemiro also said to have asked queried why so much attention was placed on positions and not the freedom of movement that they had enjoyed at Real Madrid.

Ronaldo left Old Trafford in November 2022, while World Cup-winning French defender Varane has moved on as a free agent this summer. Casemiro is seeing a reunion with CR7 at Al-Nassr speculated on, with Ten Hag – who appears to have fended off sack threats on the back of an FA Cup triumph in 2023-24 – still wrestling with issues regarding player power in his dressing room.