7 players that fell out with Erik ten Hag, ft. Sancho, Ronaldo & Onana | OneFootball

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Jadon Sancho's career at Manchester United could be in danger as the forward seems to have publicly fallen out with Erik ten Hag. After some comments made by the Red Devils boss about the Englishman's poor performances in training led to him being dropped for the Premier League match against Arsenal, he spoke out on social media and defended himself against the accusations. The former Borussia Dortmund star clearly wasn't happy with what his manager had to say about him in public, and it seems their relationship is a little worse for wear right now.

The thing is, this isn't the first time Ten Hag has fallen out with one of his players. Far from it, actually, with the gaffer known for his brash nature and his confrontational manner. Numerous players in the past have gotten on the wrong side of the former Ajax manager, and it usually ends with them quickly leaving his club. Time will only tell if that will be the case for Sancho.

Zidane Iqbal

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 15: Zidane Iqbal of Manchester United runs with the ball during the Pre-Season friendly match between Melbourne Victory and Manchester United at Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 15, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mike Owen/Getty Images)

Having arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2022, Ten Hag wasted no time falling out with his first United player, as he clashed with Zidane Iqbal. The highly-rated prospect had been teetering on the edge of the first team for a while and had even made his debut in the Champions League the season before the Dutchman took charge of the club. The future seemed bright for the youngster, and it felt inevitable that he'd play a significant role for the Red Devils going forward.

That's not quite how things went, though, and immediately, things turned sour between Iqbal and the coach. In one of his first training sessions as United manager, Ten Hag blasted the youngster, saying: "Keep the ball on the floor! Zidane! Hey! Keep the ball on the floor. F*cking rubbish!" Clearly unimpressed, the now 20-year-old didn't play a single minute for the club again and was sold for next to nothing to Utrecht in the Eredivisie this summer.

Noa Lang

Despite bursting onto the scene at Ajax and starting really promisingly in the club's first team, Noa Lang was gone almost as quickly as he arrived and it was largely down to a spat with Ten Hag. Although he scored on his debut and netted a hat-trick in his first league start for the club, the first man to do so in 60 years, the youngster rubbed his manager the wrong way and was determined to have had a serious attitude problem. The pair had a big falling out that was sparked by an argument mid-game which can be seen below.

He was subsequently loaned out to FC Twente and Club Brugge before he joined the Belgian side on a permanent deal. After impressing in the Belgian Pro League, he made his way back to the Netherlands this summer when he joined PSV Eindhoven. A player with huge promise, it's interesting to ponder what could have been if he hadn't fallen out with Ten Hag.

Amin Younes

Ten Hag's time at Ajax is looked back on fondly and the overarching narrative is about just how well-loved he was in the team. It seems, though, that he had fairly tumultuous relationships with more than one player during his time there. Amin Younes had played a fairly large role at Ajax for two and a half years by the time he had a big falling out with the manager, and it killed his career with the team.

After his boss tried to substitute the German into the game in the latter stages of a 4-1 win over Heerenveen in March 2018, he refused to come on, simply staying put on the bench and that was that. Younes never played for Ajax again, was forced to train with the reserves for the remainder of the season and was sold to Napoli months later.

Andre Onana

This spat goes to show that at least Ten Hag is capable of letting bygones be bygones. After a wonderful time working together at Ajax, the manager had a big falling out with Andre Onana towards the end of the goalkeeper's time in Holland. After a lengthy ban, the shot-stopper returned to the side but had made it pretty clear he wanted out of the club.

What followed was a series of lacklustre performances in which his heart clearly wasn't in it. A poor mistake that saw the current United man booed off by his own fans led to him revealing he didn't care and his relationship with Ten Hag took a hit. He was dropped towards the end of the campaign and never played for Ajax again. Time apparently heals all wounds, though, and they're clearly on better terms now, with the manager bringing Onana to Old Trafford this summer.

Jadon Sancho

Jadon Sancho places his arms in the air in celebration to the Old Trafford crowd in a Premier League game against Southampton.

The latest name to have a falling out with Ten Hag, Sancho's time in England hasn't exactly been smooth sailing since he joined United from Dortmund in 2021. He has failed to show the level of talent he demonstrated in Germany, and it's led to his position in the side being under question. The boss dropped him from the team entirely against Arsenal at the weekend and when asked about it, he claimed he didn't like what he'd seen from the Englishman in training and that was the deciding factor in his decision to remove him.

Sancho quickly spoke out on social media denying he'd been anything other than exemplary during training and claiming he felt he'd been made a scapegoat at United for quite some time. It remains to be seen where things go from here, but the forward claimed he was determined to continue fighting for the club, so this may still have a positive ending.

Marcus Rashford

Even players in the form of their lives aren't immune to falling out with Ten Hag, who dropped Marcus Rashford from the United squad for a game against Wolverhampton Wanderers last season due to the forward's punctuality. After the English star was late to a pre-game meeting, he was swiftly removed from the matchday squad that faced the midlands side. It was a bold move considering he'd been in the best form of his career, up until that point.

Fortunately, the pair quickly put the moment behind them and are clearly on much better terms right now. Rashford finished the season with his career-best goals return with 30 in all competitions, and has started this season just as strongly, opening the scoring against Arsenal at the weekend.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The most high-profile fallout in Ten Hag's career so far came when his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo turned sour. The Red Devils legend returned to the club in 2021 and had a strong first season back in England, but once the former Ajax man took charge of the side, things went downhill pretty quickly.

Clearly unconvinced with the Portuguese icon, Ten Hag saw a future without Ronaldo at United and severely reduced his playing time at the club. Despite scoring 24 goals in his first campaign back, the now 38-year-old played just 16 times for the Red Devils in the first half of last season, largely coming off the bench, and he didn't like it one bit. Having twice refused to come on as a sub, Ronaldo conducted an interview on television with Piers Morgan where he publicly criticised Ten Hag and revealed he didn't respect him at all.

The move ruined any chance of the two parties ever really being on the same page again and the former Real Madrid man quickly saw his contract being terminated and he subsequently joined Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.