Ten Hag 'lost no sleep' over his decision to drop Ronaldo - a lift-off point for United

Ronaldo pushed for a move away from Old Trafford in the summer but ended up staying at United.

- TYRONE MARSHALL

ERIK ten Hag said he slept well after making the call to drop Cristiano Ronaldo in the Old Trafford game against Liverpool in August, a decision that accelerated the forward’s departure from the club in November.

Having started the 4-0 defeat at Brentford, he was then dropped to the bench against Liverpool and came on for just the final four minutes of a 2-1 victory.

That success provided the lift-off for the Ten Hag era but also hinted at what was to come from Ronaldo.

He found it difficult to nail down a place in the side, was punished for refusing to come on against Tottenham and then had his contract terminated by mutual consent after giving an unauthorized interview to Piers Morgan.

But ahead of the reverse fixture this weekend, Ten Hag insisted the decision to drop Ronaldo for the third game of his reign was ‘obvious’ and that he lost no sleep over it.