'Is this man crazy?' - Cristiano Ronaldo 'mistake' cost Erik ten Hag 'respect' of Man Utd dressing room as Wesley Sneijder insists under-fire boss 'knows he has to leave' after disastrous 2023-24 campaign

Portuguese superstar Ronaldo courted controversy in the autumn of 2022 when giving an explosive interview to Piers Morgan in which he took aim at prominent figures from United’s past and present. The Red Devils felt backed into a corner by the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and ultimately decided to rip up his contract.

Ten Hag played a significant role in that saga, having taken to dropping Ronaldo and questioning his value to the collective cause, and the Dutch coach has struggled to convince since ushering the all-time great towards the exits at Old Trafford.

Questions are now being asked of whether Ten Hag will still be United boss in 2024-25, with former Ajax and Real Madrid star Sneijder telling Veronica Offside of his fellow Dutchman and where it started to go wrong for him in England: “He already made a mistake by competing with Ronaldo. He lost everyone’s respect there. He thought it would work the other way around, but of course not. Those guys in the dressing room thought, ‘Is this man crazy?’”

Sneijder added on the sack talk that is now raging around Ten Hag, with United set to miss out on a top-four finish and Champions League qualification: “Of course he already knows that he has to leave. But you’re not going to go yourself. If I was him, I would sit there comfortably [until he’s sacked].”

Ten Hag did bring United’s six-year wait for major silverware to a close last season when savouring Carabao Cup glory, and has led them to back-to-back FA Cup finals – where they will once again face Manchester City in 2024. Ronaldo, meanwhile, is now in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr and is showing no sign of slowing down at 39 years of age – with 42 goals recorded through 44 appearances this season.