Piers Morgan trolls Erik ten Hag for his old comments on Cristiano Ronaldo after Manchester United's 1-0 loss to West Ham
Renowned British broadcaster Piers Morgan has taken aim at Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag for his old comments on Cristiano Ronaldo. Morgan's dig at the Dutch tactician came after the Red Devils' 1-0 loss to West Ham United.
Ten Hag's men traveled to the London Stadium for a Premier League encounter on Sunday, 7 May. An encouraging first half was disrupted by David de Gea's error as a weak shot from Said Benrahma crept into the net to give the Hammers the lead in the 26th minute.
Manchester United struggled to muster a response in a sub-par second-half display in which West Ham could've improved their advantage. They eventually fell to a 1-0 defeat, their second in a row by that margin, and haven't scored in their last 231 minutes of action.
After the game, Piers Morgan posted an image on Twitter containing an Erik ten Hag quote from earlier this season that read:
"I had reasons [for dropping Cristiano Ronaldo] and I also knew the consequence if it was a negative outcome. But I am not worrying and I sleep well in those nights."
Morgan captioned the tweet with:
"How's that sleep going, Erik?"
How’s that sleep going, Erik? https://t.co/IMF2RSui0B
The British broadcaster is a supporter and friend of Cristiano Ronaldo. It was his explosive interview with the Portuguese superstar late last year that eventually led to the latter's departure from Manchester United.
In the now infamous conversation, Ronaldo lashed out at the club, Ten Hag, and some of his former teammates. This in turn led to the Red Devils terminating his contract in November last year.
Manchester United have fared well without Cristiano Ronaldo this term
Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats of the game. However, it was clear very early on that he would struggle to fit into Erik ten Hag's system at Manchester United.
Ronaldo endured a turbulent pre-season marred by personal issues and an early departure from Old Trafford following a friendly match. He started United's second match of the season and failed to make an impact as they suffered a 4-0 hammering away to Brentford.
This prompted Ten Hag to drop him to the bench for the next four games. Ronaldo played just 80 minutes across those contests, with the Red Devils winning all of those matches.
Overall, the club picked up just one win in his four Premier League starts and six overall across his 10 league matches before he departed the club. They also beat Fulham 2-1 in their final game before the 2022 FIFA World Cup break, but Ronaldo missed out due to illness.
Since finalizing his departure midway through the break, Manchester United have gone on to win 11 of their 18 Premier League matches. They also lifted the Carabao Cup in February and have made next month's FA Cup final, with a quarterfinal exit in the UEFA Europa League the only real blemish.
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, has scored 12 times and laid out two assists in 15 matches across competitions for Al-Nassr, who he joined in January this year. However, it hasn't been all smooth sailing for the club, who sit second in the Saudi Pro League and recently sacked manager Rudi Garcia.