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Ronaldo with United boss Ten Hag. Alamy Stock Photo

'He’s gone and it’s the past': Ten Hag gives first interview since Ronaldo’s messy departure

The Dutchman insisted his focus was on the future as he looks to continue the rebuilding job at Old Trafford.

MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER Erik ten Hag claims the club have quickly moved on from Cristiano Ronaldo’s messy departure last month.

Ten Hag was not willing to discuss the saga in depth when asked by the club’s in-house TV channel MUTV in an interview that was aired on Wednesday.

The Dutchman instead insisted his focus was on the future as he looks to continue the rebuilding job at Old Trafford that he began when he arrived in the summer.

Asked how he had managed the situation, Ten Hag said: “He’s gone and it’s the past. We are now looking forward and we’re looking to the future.”

United terminated Ronaldo’s contract after being rocked by an extraordinary series of complaints from the Portuguese star in an explosive TV interview with presenter and journalist Piers Morgan.

Ten Hag came in for particular criticism from the 37-year-old Ronaldo, who accused the Dutchman of not respecting him.

More questions may come when Ten Hag faces external media at a later date but, for now, his attention is on United’s return to action after the World Cup break.

United face Burnley in a Carabao Cup tie on 21 December before hosting Nottingham Forest in the Premier League six days later.

Ten Hag is confident his players will hit the ground running.

He said: “We had a plan, we have prepared the players with what the plan is, so there can’t be any confusion about what the programme is.

“We make the players aware of the fact that, after you are out of the World Cup, you have to return to the club and the league immediately goes on. You have to be ready for that, but I think our players are used to it.”

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    Mute Limón Madrugada
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    May 27th 2019, 6:43 PM

    I wouldn’t bet on him playing for Real next season just yet .

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    Mute Claire Con
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    May 27th 2019, 9:29 PM

    @Limón Madrugada: I agree, defiantly not in the league games unless he really seems to prosper. Vinicius I feel was played too often and too fast this season too. He needs to work on his finishing

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    Mute Vinny O'Shaughnessy
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    May 27th 2019, 8:48 PM

    If I was going to start playing for Real Madrid I’d probably be vomiting too. Despicable club with the most ungrateful supporters.

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    Mute Claire Con
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    May 27th 2019, 9:31 PM

    @Vinny O’Shaughnessy: this statement is completely false. Every club has a small number of toxic supporters but that’s just football. Compared to other teams we aren’t too bad. Look at serie-A fans calling black players monkeys and so on. Yes some fans fail to show respect to club legends but that’s a common trait in Spain. Barcelona fans, Atletico fans etc are the same

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    May 27th 2019, 10:07 PM

    @Claire Con: all well and good to point the finger but Real Madrid fans have also racially abused black opposition player, Dembele got it in El Clásico in February. But we both know that the commenter was referring to the amount of abuse and booing Real fans give their own players at the earliest sign of any problem.

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    Mute Limón Madrugada
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    May 27th 2019, 10:41 PM

    @Dave O Keeffe: just not true.

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    Mute Kieran Fogarty
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    May 27th 2019, 10:57 PM

    @Claire Con: in fairness he said ungrateful fans

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    Mute Bryn Capstan
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    May 28th 2019, 1:42 AM

    @Vinny O’Shaughnessy: cheap shot. Jealousy no doubt. What’s your club won this decade so far???

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    Mute Claire Con
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    May 28th 2019, 5:24 PM

    @Dave O Keeffe: and like I said, unfortunately fans like that exist everywhere. In fairness it isn’t as regular of an occurrence like in Italy (thank God) but unfortunately Spanish fans tend to be aggressive.

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    Mute Claire Con
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    May 28th 2019, 5:25 PM

    @Kieran Fogarty: in fairness he called the club despicable. Not the most accurate comment when you compare the club to others.

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    Mute A Person
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    May 28th 2019, 6:55 PM

    @Claire Con: Mbappe

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    May 29th 2019, 1:19 AM

    @Limón Madrugada: several sources, including Dembele himself.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    May 29th 2019, 2:27 AM

    @Claire Con: except you specifically singled out serie A fans for racism as a defense of Madrid fans. In no way am I saying it’s just Madrid. It’s pretty prevalent in Spain.

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    Mute Claire Con
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    May 29th 2019, 7:18 PM

    @Dave O Keeffe: I wasn’t necessarily singling our anyone. I simply mean that this isn’t an irregular occurrence in serie A games. Literally something happens every game.

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