“This is Cristiano Ronaldo all over again” - Piers Morgan slams Erik ten Hag for treatment of Jadon Sancho
Piers Morgan has recalled the Cristiano Ronaldo saga in response to Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag and Jadon Sancho's war of words.
Ten Hag left Sancho out of his squad to face Arsenal on Sunday (September 3). The Red Devils suffered a 3-1 defeat to the Gunners but Sancho wasn't even selected on the substitutes bench.
The Manchester United boss claimed during his press conference that the English winger wasn't chosen due to his performance in training. He said (via talkSPORT):
"Jadon, for his performance in training we didn't select him. You have to reach a level every day for Manchester United and we can make choices. For this game, he wasn't selected."
Sancho then hit back at Ten Hag's comments claiming that there was a deeper reasoning behind his omission. He posted a long-worded statement on his X (formerly Twitter) account stating:
"Please don't believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won't go into, I've been a scapegoat for a long time which isn't fair!"
Morgan has hit out at Ten Hag for his treatment of the young Englishman by comparing it to the hostility that grew between the Dutch coach and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese icon left Manchester United last November after falling out with his manager (via the aforementioned source):
"If you look back to my interview with Cristiano Ronaldo everything he said about the club, the structure, Ten Hag, all of it, everything he said was right."
Cristiano Ronaldo had given an explosive interview with Morgan prior to the mutual termination of his contract in November. He slammed Ten Hag for disrespecting him and raised concerns over the club's infrastructure and ownership. Morgan added:
"If you look at the issue with Jadon Sancho then this is Ronaldo all over again. Him going public criticising players, players feeling he is being deliberately misleading about them. There comes a point when Ten Hag has to look at himself. I think he's completely out of his depth and I think its a poor United side."
Ten Hag is a stickler for strict discipline and has shown that he isn't afraid to make it known who is in charge while at Old Trafford. The Red Devils boss dropped Marcus Rashford for being late to training last season and Ronaldo was suspended for one game after refusing to come on as a substitute.
Cristiano Ronaldo's signing stunted Sancho's arrival at Manchester United
Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Sancho joined Manchester United in the summer of 2021 and were viewed as blockbuster signings. Ronaldo made a groundbreaking return to the club from Serie A giants Juventus.
However, this somewhat overshadowed Sancho's arrival from Borussia Dortmund, a player United had been chasing for several years. The 23-year-old looked primed to be the Red Devils' marquee signing that summer but Ronaldo's acquisition meant he took somewhat of a backseat.
He had donned the No. 7 shirt during his time at Dortmund but this was of course handed to the Portuguese icon. The English winger has been unable to replicate the exciting form he showed at Signal Iduna Park prior to his £73 million arrival.
He has come in and out of the side, unable to seal a permanent starting berth in Ten Hag's side. He is yet to start a game this season playing just 76 minutes worth of action in three games and his manager has preferred the likes of Antony and Alejandro Garnacho.
The English attacker has made 82 appearances across competitions for Manchester United, scoring 12 goals and providing six assists. This is a stark contrast to the 50 goals and 64 assists he managed in 137 games for Dortmund.