Erik ten Hag: 5 Footballers Who Fell Out With Manchester United Manager

Maintaining a harmonious relationship with every squad member proves to be a challenging responsibility.

The day-to-day operations of a football club can wear down even the most composed and calmest of characters.

Erik ten Hag is acutely aware of this reality, having experienced his fair share of disagreements and fallouts at both Manchester United and Ajax, spanning various reasons.

Known for his assertive and confrontational demeanour, the manager has, in the past, seen several players end up on unfavourable terms with the former Ajax custodian, often resulting in their departure from the club under his charge

Sports Brief looks at five players that Ten Hag has fallen out with during his managerial career.

Noa Lang

Despite bursting onto the scene at Ajax and starting really promisingly in the club's first team, Noa Lang was gone almost as quickly as he arrived, and it was largely down to a spat with Ten Hag.

Although he scored on his debut and netted a hat-trick in his first league start for the club, the first man to do so in 60 years, the youngster rubbed his manager the wrong way and was determined to have had a serious attitude problem.

The pair had a big falling out that was sparked by an argument mid-game, which can be viewed in full below.

Jadon Sancho

Since his transfer from Dortmund in 2021, Jadon Sancho's time at Manchester United has been turbulent. Failing to mirror his success in Germany raised concerns about his role.

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In early September 2023, the manager excluded him from the team, expressing dissatisfaction with his training. Sancho contested this on social media, claiming unfair scapegoating at United.

With no resolution in sight, the former Manchester City prospect opted for a loan return to Borussia Dortmund in January 2023.

Anthony Martial

During the 2023/24 season, the Frenchman lost the favour of the Dutch coach, leading to his isolation from first-team training.

Martial's prolonged illness, spanning over a month, impeded his recovery to match fitness.

Displeased with the 28-year-old's development, Ten Hag mandated solitary training for the former Monaco star, indicating a critical evaluation of his performance despite being free from injuries.

Marcus Rashford

Players at their best can still have disagreements with Ten Hag, exemplified when he sidelined Marcus Rashford in a 2022/23 game against Wolverhampton Wanderers due to the forward's lateness.

Despite Rashford's outstanding form, his tardiness in a pre-game meeting led to his omission from the matchday squad. Fortunately, they swiftly resolved their differences, and Rashford concluded the season with a personal best of 30 goals.

However, in the 2023/24 season, Rashford has encountered challenges and spent time on the bench, indicating that Ten Hag may still harbour concerns about his consistent performance.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The most significant falling out for Ten Hag came when his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo deteriorated.

Despite the Red Devils legend's impressive return to Manchester United in 2021, tensions escalated when Ten Hag took charge. Expressing scepticism toward the Portuguese icon, Ten Hag minimised Ronaldo's playing time and diminished his role at the club, despite the forward scoring 24 goals in his initial season back.

In the subsequent season, Ronaldo played only 16 times in the first half, discontented with the situation. He publicly criticised Ten Hag in a television interview with Piers Morgan. This fallout resulted in the termination of Ronaldo's contract, and he subsequently joined Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

Ten Hag slammed for Mainoo sub

Earlier, Sports Brief reported on ten Hag finding himself on the receiving end for making a 'sackable offence' during Manchester United's Premier League defeat against Nottingham Forest.

ten Hag's move to sub off Mainoo at halftime has been blamed for United's defeat at City Ground.

Mainoo had helped quell the threat posed by Forest's midfield during the opening 45 minutes.