Former Barca and Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal sees the decision to leave Cristiano Ronaldo out of Man Utd last season as a bad one by coach Erik ten Hag.
"Ten Hag made many bad decisions at Man Utd," British newspaper Sportmail quoted Vidal on September 25. "How could he get rid of Ronaldo? Ronaldo is Man Utd's main striker, but was eliminated by Ten Hag."
Ronaldo unexpectedly returned to Man Utd at the end of the 2021 summer transfer window, after leaving Juventus. In his first season, although the team did not play successfully, Ronaldo still impressed with 24 goals in 38 matches in all competitions. But in the next season, the Portuguese striker joined the team late because he wanted to move to a club participating in the Champions League, leading to a conflict with new coach Ten Hag.
Ronaldo walks past Ten Hag as he leaves the pitch after a Premier League match for Man Utd in the 2022-2023 season. Photo: Reuters
The Dutch coach therefore benched Ronaldo, explaining why he was not used in the 3-6 loss to Man City out of "respect" and punished him for leaving early in the match against Tottenham. In response, in November 2022, the Portuguese striker accused Man Utd of "betraying" him and publicly criticized Ten Hag in a 90-minute conversation on the Piers Morgan Uncensored show. More than a week later, the Old Trafford owner terminated Ronaldo's contract half a year early.
Ronaldo then joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr under a contract until June 2025, with a world-record salary of $75 million per year. If advertising and sponsorship are included, the Portuguese striker could earn $200 million per year. At 38, he is still playing regularly, scoring 23 goals and assisting seven in 27 matches, helping Al Nassr win the Arab Champions League.
Meanwhile, Man Utd started the new season with a struggle with three wins and three losses, scoring only seven goals in six Premier League rounds. New striker Ramus Hojlund was highly expected, but was still in the familiarization phase and did not contribute much to the team's playing style. At the end of the 1-3 home loss to Brighton in the fifth round of the Premier League on September 16, many Man Utd fans in the Old Trafford stands sang Ronaldo's name.
Last month, Ronaldo scored three goals and assisted once as Al Nassr beat hosts Al Fateh 5-0 in the third round of the Saudi Pro League. After the match, journalist Piers Morgan attacked Ten Hag. "Ronaldo's hat-trick and assist for Sadio Mane, while looking stronger and hungrier than ever, should be a reminder to Ten Hag. He said Ronaldo wasn't good enough to play for Man Utd, and now his team has no one who can finish," the British MC wrote.
Vidal has a similar view, seeing the current struggles at United as evidence that Ten Hag was wrong to push a prolific goalscorer like Ronaldo out of the team. "The worst thing is that they all cheered for Ten Hag when he got rid of Ronaldo. Only idiots do that, when they come to a club and mess everything up. It's terrible," the Chilean added.
Vidal (in white shirt) tackles Ronaldo during a match between Chile and Portugal. Photo: AFP
According to Sportmail , Vidal began attacking "bald coaches" when he played under Jorge Sampaoli at Flamengo last season. The Chilean midfielder won the Copa Libertadores and the Brazilian Cup, but only played 21 games and was often left out of the starting lineup. In July 2023, Vidal left Flamengo by mutual consent, then joined Athletico Paranaense on a contract until December 2023. When he was introduced to his new club, the 36-year-old midfielder criticized Sampaoli for being a "loser" and not appreciating his students.
Before that, Vidal played for many big European clubs, such as Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Bayern, Barca and Inter Milan. At the national team level, he scored 34 goals in 141 matches, and was part of Chile's golden generation that won the Copa America in 2015 and 2016.
Hong Duy
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