Erik ten Hag turns down stunning job offer after Cristiano Ronaldo tension finally explained

Erik ten Hag has turned down a return to management just four months after his dismissal from Manchester United.

Manchester United parted ways with former manager Erik ten Hag in October 2024 after a disastrous start to the season, leaving the club 21st in the Europa League and 13th in the Premier League.

His dismissal followed a 2-1 defeat away to West Ham, though the decision had been looming after a poor 2023/24 campaign and a dreadful start to the new season.

Despite United opting to back Ten Hag in the summer with a £200 million squad overhaul, as well as an extended contract with the club, results failed to improve.

Ruud van Nistelrooy initially stepped in as interim manager before Rúben Amorim was appointed as the club’s next permanent head coach. However, many of the problems which plagued Ten Hag’s tenure have persisted under the new leadership.

Ten Hag rejected Feyenoord job offer

According to a new report from Algemeen Dagblad, the Dutch manager was on Feyenoord’s list to become their new manager in what would have been a stunning move considering his past.

Before his time at Old Trafford, the 54-year-old made his name at Ajax, rivals of Feyenoord, and won six trophies at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Ten Hag was high on their list but the ex-United man does not want to return to management until the summer. It was also claimed that he wants to coach outside of the Netherlands.

Instead, it has been reported that another ex-Red will take charge of the Eredivisie outfit, with Robin van Persie set to make the move after the rejection from Ten Hag.

Ten Hag’s tension with Ronaldo finally explained

Meanwhile, Ten Hag’s former coach at Old Trafford Benni McCarthy has finally lifted the lit on the Dutchman’s issues with Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese legend had extreme tension with Ten Hag after he took over the club in 2022 and he was left out of the team multiple times before eventually conducting a blockbuster interview with Piers Morgan, which led to the mutual termination of his contract at Old Trafford.

McCarthy has explained that Ten Hag’s biggest issue with Ronaldo was that he didn’t suit the style he wanted from his striker, as he wanted more pressing from the player in that position.

“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.”

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