Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes has admitted that Erik ten Hag kept his promise by ripping apart star players like Cristiano Ronaldo.
The former Ajax boss was named Manchester United manager after the club suffered their worst-ever season last year. He moved swiftly to change the squad’s attitude, which was characterised by poor body language and negative training ground leaks.
Ten Hag soon demonstrated that things would be different under his leadership in contrast to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s friendly approach. During a summer tour of Asia and Australia, Ten Hag imposed his own principles, and the players rapidly learned what would and wouldn’t work.
When the team returned to Manchester after missing that summer trip, Ronaldo wanted to leave the club. The Portuguese striker has numerous discussions with Ten Hag after making it apparent he wanted to quit.
He would eventually stay at Carrington to begin the season but rapidly shifted to the position of “super sub” rather than a certain starter. Throughout the first half of the season, their relationship started breaking, including a significant instance where he refused to enter as a substitute.
Prior to the commencement of the World Cup, Ronaldo’s departure from Old Trafford was finally made official thanks to an explosive Piers Morgan interview. The veteran claimed that Ten Hag disrespected him and pushed him towards the exit door during their conversation.
And Fernandes said that Ronaldo, along with players like Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, were setting an example for the rest of the team that indiscipline would not be accepted by the new manager.
As reported by the Manchester Evening News, the Portuguese midfielder said:
“I think he first arrived and we went on tour and the training sessions that we had and here after that and everything, he demands, he demands from people and you do it or you won’t play.”
“So everybody was a little like in the beginning: ‘whoa, he will do that or not? If a big player doesn’t do what he wants he will pull him out or not?’ And he did it.
“He did it many times. He did it with Cristiano [Ronaldo], he did it with Jadon [Sancho], and Marcus [Rashford] also. In the big moments like Marcus was probably in the best form against the Wolves, he did something wrong, the manager pulled him out and everyone was like whoa.”
“I’m a parent, you’re a father too, sometimes you have to make some rules at your house, if not they will go over you and in a short period of time they will be owners of the house.”
Fernandes has been handed the captaincy band given that Ronaldo is no longer a member of the team and Harry Maguire is unable to secure a starting position.
United have been different under Ten Hag and their recent performances justify this statement. The players performed brilliantly against Barcelona in a tough Camp Nou atmosphere.
They are also third in the current league standings and are already active in all four major cup competitions this season.
