Piers Morgan rubs salt in Erik ten Hag's wounds after Man Utd controversy

Piers Morgan took a swipe at Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag after Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 132nd international goal on Sunday night. Ronaldo popped up with the winning strike two minutes from time as Portugal defeated Scotland 2-1 in the Nations League.

Ronaldo made his name with the Red Devils during the early stages of his career after moving to the club from Sporting as an 18-year-old in 2003.

He went on to enjoy success with Real Madrid and Juventus before returning to Old Trafford for a second spell in 2021.

Ronaldo came back to United when his former team-mate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge of the team and later plied his trade under interim boss Ralf Rangnick. But his United career was ultimately brought to an abrupt end just months after Ten Hag had been handed the reins at Old Trafford.

After falling down the pecking order under the Dutchman and being slapped with a one-game suspension by club chiefs for his apparent refusal to come on as a substitute during a Premier League encounter with Tottenham, Ronaldo spoke out against Ten Hag during an interview with broadcaster Morgan ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

And the blockbuster star never played for United again, with the club agreeing to terminate his contract.

Ronaldo soon moved to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he has netted 62 goals in 68 appearances. And he has continued to represent Portugal on the international stage.

The 39-year-old got his name on the scoresheet as his country defeated Croatia 2-1 on Thursday. He then found the back of the net for the second time in four days as he came off the bench to fire the ball past Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn on Sunday.

And Morgan couldn’t resist the opportunity to rub salt in Ten Hag’s wounds following United’s dismal start to the new campaign.

The Arsenal fan and former Good Morning Britain host took to X after Ronaldo’s winning goal against Scotland and uploaded a picture of himself sitting alongside the forward as he captioned the post: “REMINDER: Erik ten Hag drove @Cristiano out of Manchester United and said he wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. Methinks Erik may need an Ambien tonight.”

Morgan went on to slam Ten Hag during an interview on talkSPORT on Monday.

United have endured a slow start in the Premier League under Ten Hag for the third season in a row, with the former Ajax boss struggling to solve his team’s issues.

And just before the international break, the 13-time Premier League champions were humiliated by Liverpool at Old Trafford, with the Merseyside giants defeating their rivals 3-0. Ten Hag’s team had already lost 2-1 to Brighton following a 1-0 win over Fulham on the first day of the new season. And that run has left United 14th in the table after three matches.