Erik ten Hag insists Cristiano Ronaldo never told him he wanted to leave Manchester United before conducting his incendiary interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo, 37, agreed to terminate his contract at Old Trafford in November, having slammed Ten Hag and many other aspects of the club while speaking with close friend Morgan. The Portugal captain declared he had no "respect" for his manager after playing a bit-part role in the first half of the season.
There had been mass speculation about Ronaldo's future since the summer, when he reportedly told Red Devils chiefs he wanted to depart. However, Ten Hag recalls things very differently, claiming the five-time Ballon d'Or winner actually informed him he wanted to stay.
"Until that moment in the [Morgan] interview, I never heard anything," Ten Hag said of Ronaldo at United's winter training base in Jerez, Spain. "In the summer, we had one talk. He came in and said, 'I will tell you in seven days if I want to stay'. Then he came back and said, 'I want to stay'."
The Dutch boss added: "The interview I think as a club you can't accept. There will be consequences. To make that step he knew the consequences but before then he never told me."
Ronaldo was seldom used as a starter in the Premier League during the first half of the season and scored just once in the top flight. His frustration with his situation was evident as he stormed down the tunnel against Tottenham in October, having refused to come on as a substitute.
Did Erik ten Hag manage the Cristiano Ronaldo situation well? Have your say in the comments.
There were serious concerns over whether Ten Hag would be able to manage a superstar of Ronaldo's stature after arriving from Ajax in the summer. However, he insists it was never his "objective" to engage in a power struggle with the former Real Madrid and Juventus striker.
"We wanted him to be part of our project and for him to contribute to Manchester United because he is a great player," Ten Hag said of Ronaldo. "He has such a great history, but it's the past and we have to look into the future and so I don't spend my energy on it.
"When he is in good shape, he is a good player and he could help us to get back and achieve the objectives we have. That is quite clear, but he wasn't. I wanted him to stay from the first moment until now. He wanted to leave, it was quite clear. And when a player definitely doesn't want to be in this club, then he has to go, clear.
"I did everything honest and open and transparent and we had talks about my vision, so I don't have a problem to talk with him. I would have preferred it to be a different way because I wanted to work with him. But he chose another way."
