Erik ten Hag preferred Anthony Martial over Cristiano Ronaldo for stunning reason, says ex-Man Utd coach

Benni McCarthy was part of Manchester United’s coaching staff during the latter stages of Cristiano Ronaldo’s second stint at Old Trafford.

Cristiano Ronaldo made a sensational return to Manchester United in the summer of 2021, a move that left supporters in disbelief.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who had originally left for Real Madrid in 2009, appeared set to join rivals Manchester City before a dramatic deadline-day twist saw him rejoin the Reds.

At the time, Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side had just finished second in the Premier League and bolstered their squad with the signings of Ronaldo, Raphaël Varane, and Jadon Sancho.

However, the season did not unfold as expected, with United finishing sixth and Solskjær being dismissed mid-season.

Following his departure, Erik ten Hag took charge the next summer, and Benni McCarthy was appointed as a first-team coach, focusing on working with the club’s attacking players.

Why Ten Hag preferred Martial over Ronaldo

One of the first major calls Ten Hag seemed to make was his preference for a more mobile centre-forward who could press more often.

That led to him stubbing Ronaldo, often for Anthony Martial when fit, until the Portuguese legend ended up forcing his way out of the club by doing a public interview with Piers Morgan.

McCarthy, who coached the attackers in the group, has explained that Ten Hag preferred Martial over Ronaldo because of the former’s ability to press.

“Erik wanted pressing from the start,” McCarthy told Ladbrokes. “And I think Ronaldo, when he came to United, in his early years at Real Madrid, he was able to do what Erik expected him to do, like high press and then still have enough in the tank to get himself into positions to score.

“So Ronaldo was varying his game a lot, but it wasn’t how Erik wanted to play. So he felt that it just couldn’t work. Having Cris in the starting XI wouldn’t work with the way we wanted to play, and that’s why Erik preferred Anthony Martial.”

United still have striker issues

Things certainly did not work out the way Ten Hag would’ve liked, however, with Martial struggling to play consistently due to injury under the Dutchman.

Wout Weghorst came in mid-season to fill the hole in the squad but he was lacking the desired quality of a no.9 at Old Trafford.

Then, Rasmus Højlund was signed in the following summer and he has since had major difficulties scoring goals.

McCarthy added: “It’s just a real, real shame that it didn’t work out because I thought he still would have been great. He was great. And he was great for the players just for his mentality because that’s what you have to have when you play at United.

“You have to have the toughest mentality around because the amount of pressure, the amount of scrutiny that comes with being a United player. You need mettle, you know, and yeah, unfortunately it just didn’t work out the way we wanted it to because of Ronaldo’s age.

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“He wasn’t capable of lasting in the way the manager wanted and expected from his No. 9, and because of what happened, he had to move on. But I loved every minute of working with him.”

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