The Dutchman's spell in charge has been made even more difficult by a spate of off-pitch incidents involving some of his best players
Who'd be Manchester United manager? As if being tasked with overhauling a club that has lurched one from nightmare to the other since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement wasn't daunting enough, you have to cope with your every decision being scrutinised by the media and a global fanbase of one billion people.
Erik ten Hag has had mixed results in his 18 months in charge: delivering a third-placed finish in the Premier League and a first trophy in six years, only to preside over an almighty drop-off this season.
But throughout his reign, he has had to deal with a mountain of off-pitch issues, some of which he has played a part in and others in which he has had no control over. Marcus Rashford's debauched nights out in Belfast were just the latest episode in a long-running stream of incidents that have threatened to further destabilise Ten Hag's tenure at Old Trafford…
GettyRonaldo wanting out
Ten Hag might have been excited about the prospect of working with Cristiano Ronaldo when he agreed to become United manager in April 2022, but by the time he had taken charge of the team for his first campaign, the Portuguese was already causing him a headache.
Ronaldo had been granted permission to miss United's pre-season training camp, and while the player had serious reasons for needing some time off, it was also clear he was angling for a move away from the club. United received no serious bids for him, though, and when he reported back it was obvious he did not want to be there.
Ronaldo left a pre-season friendly with Rayo Vallecano at half-time and later in the season stormed off before full-time against Tottenham, having refused to come on as a substitute. He was suspended by Ten Hag for one game, but soon returned to action.
However, he made his situation with the club untenable following his controversial interview with Piers Morgan in which he bad-mouthed Ten Hag and the club, and his contract was mutually terminated weeks later.
AdvertisementGettyTakeover saga rumbling on
Just four hours after declaring that Ronaldo was to leave United, the club made another bombshell announcement: the Glazer family were launching a "strategic review" which opened up the prospect of new investment or a full sale.
The announcement lifted the spirits of fans who had become disenfranchised with the club's stewardship by the American family, but no one envisaged that the process would rumble on for more than a year until INEOS finally sealed its 25 percent stake in the club on Christmas Eve 2023, 13 months after the review had been launched.
Ten Hag would repeatedly insist that the process was not affecting his team, but the uncertainty about whether INEOS or Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani was going to become the next owner, or if the Glazers would retain full control, inevitably caused a huge distraction and led to waves of protests from supporters.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made the right noises since being confirmed as new minority shareholder and is beginning to overhaul the club, beginning with hiring Omar Berrada as CEO from Manchester City. But it felt like the club had been in limbo for 13 months, with valuable time lost.
GettyGreenwood affair
Ten Hag inherited the uncomfortable situation surrounding Mason Greenwood as the striker had been suspended by United several months before the Dutchman became manager following his arrest in January 2022. When all charges against Greenwood were dropped in February 2023, it opened the door to him returning to play, although no decision was made while the club conducted an internal review.
Ten Hag has never spoken publicly about Greenwood, but it has been reported that he was in favour of reintegrating the striker into the squad, as was then-chief executive Richard Arnold before a public backlash forced the club into making a U-turn and sending him on loan to Getafe.
On a pure footballing level, Ten Hag was deprived of a striker he had been expecting and planning to work with. The club's handling of the situation also brought a stream of negative publicity and angered many fans, providing another unwelcome distraction at the start of the new season.
imago imagesSancho relationship turns sour
Just three weeks into the season, Ten Hag had another uncomfortable situation to confront after dropping Jadon Sancho from the squad to face Arsenal. When asked about Sancho's omission, the manager surprisingly revealed he had left him out over "his performance in training" and warned: "You have to reach the level every day at Manchester United."
The manager thought he was sending a firm message to Sancho and was not expecting the player to fire back immediately on social media and accuse the manager of making him a scapegoat for United's troubles. Ten Hag had invested a great deal of time and effort in getting Sancho back on the right track the previous season and was furious with his response, suspending him from the team.
Sancho refused to apologise, and with no solution in sight was loaned out to Borussia Dortmund in January. The confrontation called Ten Hag's man-management skills into question and, most crucially, deprived United of a player they had paid £74m ($94m) to sign two years previously.