Erik ten Hag sends media brutal message after international break rumours

Erik ten Hag has sent the media a brutal message after rumours about his relationship with Raphaël Varane circled during the international break.

The media circus that surrounds Manchester United never sleeps, with international breaks often coinciding with a popular, usually negative, story surrounding the club.

In September it was Jadon Sancho, in October it was Antony, and in November it was the relationship between Erik ten Hag and Raphaël Varane.

Varane has not started for United in a number of weeks, with Ten Hag explaining that it was due to tactical reasoning, and this was picked up by the media as a potential breaking point in the relationship.

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Subsequently, rumours flew, with Varane said to be happy to leave and United willing to let him go, all while claims that Varane and Ten Hag had fallen out filled the front pages.

On Friday afternoon, however, Ten Hag completely shut these words down, branding them “rumours” and that he has no idea what the media have been peddling.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Rumours,” he told journalists directly on Friday afternoon. “There is internal competition when you have to decide on two players who are brilliant. Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane, you have to make a decision.”

United next face Everton in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon as Ten Hag looks to build momentum in his team. They have won four of their last five games in the competition, accumulating more points in that time than any other team in the league.