Erik ten Hag has been warned that he will lose control of Manchester United's dressing room unless Cristiano Ronaldo leaves the club this summer.
The Dutch manager did not have the start he would have hoped for on Sunday as he lost his first Premier League match against Brighton at Old Trafford. It took just 39 minutes for Ten Hag's side to concede two goals as dreams of a win in United's Premier League curtain-raiser quickly turned into a nightmare for the Reds.
Within the first-half, all of the pre-season optimism appeared to vanish as the players trudged off to the dressing room greeted with a chorus of boos from the home crowd. It took just eight minutes of the second-half before Ronaldo was stripped off and introduced into the action as he tried to salvage something from the game.
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Ten Hag's rescue mission failed to kick into gear as a Brighton own goal came as the only consolation for the Reds. Disappointing performances from Scott McTominay and Fred in midfield appeared to spark the club into life as they look to bolster their options in the middle of the pitch ahead of the September 1 transfer deadline.
Following the defeat, there was an eerie social media silence from United's players that perhaps showed a sign of Ten Hag laying down the law at the club. He will not have been pleased with what he saw from his players on Sunday and will have no doubt opted to share that disappointment with the players directly.
Any defeat will knock a team's morale, yet United are in the unfortunate position of having an apparently unhappy superstar within their camp. This has led former Red Garth Crooks to warn Ten Hag that he needs to let Ronaldo leave the club this summer or risk losing the dressing room.
Crooks told BBC Sport : "United want to retain Ronaldo's worldwide commercial value but that might come at a price the club simply can't afford.
"Let's be clear. You cannot build a team around a 37-year-old, no matter how good he is on occasions. With Champions League football already off the table, all that United can offer the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is automatic selection if the player is fit to play.
"Should Erik ten Hag concede to such demands and put commercialism before team selection he will lose the dressing room in a nanosecond. That's why United must cut Ronaldo loose now."
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