"He had to get rid of Ronaldo" - Former Chelsea star claims Manchester United are 'flourishing under Ten Hag' after Cristiano Ronaldo's departure

Chelsea legend Pat Nevin recently attributed Manchester United's stellar form in the Premier League to Cristiano Ronaldo's departure. The Englishman believes the Red Devils are thriving under manager Erik ten Hag this term.

Ronaldo had a massive fallout with Manchester United earlier this season. The Portuguese superstar was upset at his lack of game time under Ten Hag. He let out his frustration rather unprofessionally when he refused to come on as a last-minute substitute in a Premier League fixture.

The former Manchester United star then featured in a bombshell interview with close friend and controversial British broadcaster Piers Morgan. During the sit-down, Cristiano Ronaldo hit out at the club's owners, Ten Hag, and former teammates Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville.

Ronaldo's contract was then terminated by mutual agreement, after which he joined Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr on a lucrative $200 million-per-year contract. Nevin told the Irish Post:

"Ten Hag's done a good job. He had to get rid of Ronaldo. I got hammered for saying it. I was saying, 'I know he's your top scorer, and I know he was one of the best in the world, but what he does to the team is not good.'"

He added:

"The fact that he couldn't cope with the fact that the club is bigger than him, it should have happened before, but it did happen. You look at United now, and they're flourishing under Ten Hag. They're on the cusp of building something big, and who knows, and Manchester United has a chance to be where they should be."

Manchester United have won most of their games since Ronaldo's departure from the club. They have won five out of eight Premier League games and have drawn twice.

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"Just does not connect" - Rio Ferdinand explains why Manchester United star is better without Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand reckoned that Bruno Fernandes performs better in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese midfielder has racked up four goals and three assists in the past two months alone (via Who Scored).

Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel:

"There are some players where their game just does not connect and I think Cristiano and Bruno... Bruno was just better when he was not there or not in the team. I think that might be because Bruno needs to be the guy that the game goes through, and I think the problem with Cristiano Ronaldo is because of his reputation and how good he is, people feel that they need to find him."

United have had a promising 2022/23 Premier League campaign. The Red Devils are third in the standings and seem to have a good chance of retaining their spot in next year's UEFA Champions League.