Ten Hag’s tough stance against Ronaldo could start cultural reset that Manchester United need

Erik Ten Hag (right) is gradually stamping his authority at Manchester United.

It has been a mixed last 24 hours for Manchester United. Despite producing arguably their best performance under Erik ten Hag on Wednesday (October 19) evening against Tottenham Hotspur, the focus has been on happenings off the pitch.

The Red Devils were flawless against Spurs at Old Trafford, with goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes condemning Antonio Conte’s lethargic side to a 2-0 defeat. The headlines in the aftermath of the convincing performance have, however, been on Cristiano Ronaldo, who was an unused substitute. The Portuguese superstar left the stadium before full-time after once again being left out of the starting line-up.

The 37-year-old appeared to have been irked by Ten Hag’s reluctance to bring him on earlier. Despite initially warming up on the touchlines, he angrily walked into the tunnel in the 89th minute.

Fresh information suggest that Ronaldo left the stadium entirely. That marked the second time he has done so under Ten Hag following his departure at half-time against Rayo Vallecano in United’s final pre-season game at Old Trafford in August.

Meanwhile, United's second win in three games have propelled them to fifth in the Premier League standings — eight points off leaders Arsenal (27) — while Spurs stay third.

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Manager beats player power this time

The Red Devils have won nothing in the last five and a half years. A contributing factor to this drought has been the club's inability to make shrewd decisions when it has mattered most.

The culture at the club continued to decay, and player power became a thing. Now, though, United seem to have gotten back on track with their backing of Ten Hag in the Ronaldo saga.

The Dutchman promised to deal with the situation. He has now dropped Ronaldo from the squad that will face Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday. Even better, for the first time in years, the club are on the side of the manager rather than a star player.

A statement from United said:

“Cristiano Ronaldo will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday’s Premier League game against Chelsea. The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that fixture.”

Clearly, Ronaldo’s antics deflected attention from the great night Manchester United had against Tottenham. His walkout was also disrespectful to his teammates.

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Erik ten Hag making his presence felt at Manchester United

During Sir Alex Ferguson’s time, the most popular phrase among Manchester United fans was that ‘no player is bigger than the club’. That seemed to have lost some weight in recent times, but Ten Hag certainly has plans to bring a cultural reset to the club.

The former Ajax manager has been putting things in order both on and off the pitch, and that has been reflective in how his team plays. Players are now being selected based on form and not by past achievements or price tags.

Since the start of the season, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga, Marcus Rashford, Fred, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia have all been dropped at some point over a lack of form.

That has brought competitiveness to the squad, as shown by the improved performances of Shaw, Rashford and Sancho. Even big-money signing Casemiro has had to bide his time before getting into the starting line-up.

However, that has paid off, and Ten Hag has so far been vindicated, with Casemiro initially struggling but now becoming a key cog in the team. Ronaldo, despite his achievements, has to earn his place in the team on merit too.

The Portugal captain’s lack of pre-season has taken a toll, and he has been a pale shadow of his sharp self for weeks now. Moreover, in the games he has played in, Ronaldo has done very little to suggest he deserves to start more often.

Ten Hag’s decision to drop Ronaldo for the trip to Chelsea is a massive statement on player discipline. That could signal the beginning of the cultural reset Manchester United sorely need.