Erik ten Hag ‘had to dodge MINES laid by Cristiano Ronaldo’ at Man United

Erik ten Hag had to ‘walk through minefields’ in his first few months at Manchester United while dealing with the explosive Cristiano Ronaldo situation, according to close confidants of the manager.

The club was in such a mess that former United manager Louis van Gaal tried to persuade Ten Hag not to take the job last summer.

But the Dutch coach accepted the challenge despite knowing that his methods would likely lead him to collide with the Portuguese star.

That was how it turned out, with Ten Hag leaving Ronaldo on the United bench after Brentford humiliated him 4-0 in their second Premier League game of the season.

Ronaldo then refused to come on as a substitute in a home win over Tottenham before storming into the Old Trafford tunnel before the final whistle.

Friends of Erik ten Hag have described Cristiano Ronaldo’s toxic situation in his first few months as Manchester United manager as “like a minefield”.

Ronaldo left the club after run-ins with Ten Hag and giving his interview to Piers Morgan

Former United manager Louis van Gaal advised Ten Hag against taking over last summer.

The last straw came when Ronaldo accused Ten Hag of ‘betraying’ him and took aim at the club during his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.

That led to his departure from United and Ten Hag’s side have gone from strength to strength without him, winning the club’s first silver medal in six years by lifting the Carabao Cup last weekend.

Hans Kraay, a close friend and former teammate of Ten Hag’s at De Graafschap who is now a broadcaster in the Netherlands, described the tense situation when he arrived at United.

‘Erik deserves this success at United. People don’t realize he had to walk through minefields at United in his first five months,’ he told the Daily mirror.

“It was chaos at the club to start with, and there were the mines laid by Cristiano Ronaldo. Erik went to United because he saw the potential and the challenge.

You know what Van Gaal said to Ten Hag, right? “Erik, he’s a big mess at United, don’t go there.”

“But Erik did it, he didn’t mind fixing everything and he didn’t mind walking around Cristiano’s land mines.”

“The good thing about Erik is that he is down to earth and never wants to be a lightning manager like some managers.

Ten Hag won the Carabao Cup last weekend to end Manchester United’s trophy drought

United beat Newcastle United 2-0 in the final at Wembley to claim the long-awaited silver

He is not like José Mourinho. When he went into his first day of training, he wanted to go in a van with his own truck in the back. That about sums it up.

Ten Hag, 53, has rejuvenated United, who are chasing an unlikely quadruple of trophies.

They already clinched the Carabao Cup by beating Newcastle United 2-0 at Wembley last weekend.

In midweek, they beat West Ham 3-1 to reach the FA Cup quarter-final, where they host Fulham, while next week will see the first leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16 with Real Betis.

In the Premier League, United sit in third place ahead of Sunday’s visit to Liverpool, some 11 points behind leaders Arsenal but with one game to go.

After United lost at Brentford in August, Ten Hag dragged his players the next day for an 8.5-mile penalty run, but earned their respect by joining in himself.

Added Kraay: “Erik probably didn’t know if he could actually run 13.8km. I know for a fact that he could barely walk for three weeks afterwards!

Van Gaal was United manager through two difficult seasons between 2014 and 2016