'He’s gone...': Erik Ten Hag reacts to Cristiano Ronaldo's ouster from Man United after explosive claims

It was a controversial end to Cristiano Ronaldo's second stint at Manchester United. After his explosive claims in a recent interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, where he slammed the Old Trafford club owners and came hard on team manager Erik Ten Hag, the 37-year-old Portugal star player was shown the door with his contract still not getting over. Ronaldo spoke at length on his equation with the Dutch manager and how he felt 'betrayed' by the treatment he received from the senior club executives.

As the situation became out of control, Ronaldo departed from the club where he had a memorable first stint, under Sir Alex Ferguson. Following his departure, Erik Ten Hag has finally opened up on his explosive interview. In an interview to MUTV, he said, "He’s gone and it’s the past. We are now looking forward and we’re looking to the future. When you change things in an organisation and change the way of playing, that takes time. In top-level football, you never get time. Opponents they want to kill you and that happened. We had to quickly adapt and I think our squad did terrific. The mentality changed and I think our way of playing changed during the season, the style, and I think we are growing and we have to keep the process going.," he added.

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During his interview with Morgan, Ronaldo revealed he doesn't have any respect for Erik, under whom he hardly saw his name in the starting XI in the ongoing season and didn't make much impact for the Red Devils. He had stated, "I don't have respect for him [Ten Hag] because he doesn't show respect for me. If you don't have respect for me, I'm never gonna have respect for you. Not only the manager, but the other two or three guys who are around the club [at the senior executive level]. I felt betrayed. I don't care, people should listen to the truth. Yes, I felt betrayed. I feel that some people didn't want me here, not only this year but last season too."

Currently, Ronaldo is still on the lookout for a new club after leaving Man United. There were reports of him joining the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr but he recently denied all such claims during Portugal's FIFA World Cup Ronud of 16 clash versus Switzerland. Ronaldo-led Portugal play Morocco in the quarters on December 09 in Qatar.