Manchester United player power problem – means to an end? | OneFootball

Manchester United have been notoriously known for player power issues. In the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, players have been known to take advantage of certain managers. These issues did not seem to exist under the former Scottish boss but have been an issue since.

Under Erik ten Hag, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho have spoken out against him. The former sat down for an interview with Piers Morgan after numerous times being named among the substitutes.

This case of player versus manager led a large portion of the online fanbase to oppose Erik ten Hag. The Dutch manager came under a lot of scrutiny for his handling of such a high-profile player. Large sections of the match-going supporters backed the manager believing that no player is bigger than the club.

“No one’s bigger than the club” – Sir Alex Ferguson

The quote has gained a lot of popularity over the years with different cases of power struggles within dressing rooms. The 13-time Premier League-winning manager wrote in his autobiography: “The minute a Manchester United player thought he was bigger than the manager, he had to go”.

This mantra is non-negotiable to many supporters. The handling of the Portuguese winger was brave, particularly by a manager who had yet to make his seat warm in the dugout.

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Ole Gunnar Solksjaer struggled to enforce his authority as Manchester United boss during his tenure. The club struggled with consistent leaks from the dressing room, including the revelation of lineups days before games.

The Norwegian has since spoken on the matter, telling The National: “I more or less knew at half time, so my team talk was about enjoying the last 45 minutes together and giving their all. Some of them had stopped running, caring”. This quote was about his final game as manager where United lost 4-1 away to Watford.

Jadon Sancho departure

The English winger is likely to leave the 20-time champions this summer, as per David Ornstein via The Athletic. Since last season’s defeat at Arsenal, Sancho has fallen out of favour with many supporters.

The former Ajax manager was probed about why the 24-year-old did not feature in the loss. He responded by saying: “On his performance in training, we didn’t select him. You have to reach the level every day at Manchester United”.

These words sparked a snappy response by Sancho as he took to social media the same evening. He went on to say that the statement was “untrue”, and that he had been made a “scapegoat” for a long time.

This was the second public battle that ten Hag had to deal with as Manchester United boss. He handled it by leaving him out of the squad until an apology was issued. Matters did not seem to resolve as he was loaned out to Borussia Dortmund for the remainder of the season.

The winger now is on the cusp of departing the red side of Manchester – Juventus and Chelsea leading the charge for his signature.

Juventus are currently entertaining interest from Liverpool for winger Federico Chiesa. Any funds generated for a potential deal could free up negotiation leeway for the former Borussia Dortmund winger.

Chelsea are currently looking to offload some of their large squad with rumours circulating that any potential deal could see Raheem Sterling head the other way.

The FA Cup champions will be hoping to avoid any further off-the-field drama as there is a huge season ahead. Adjacent to this, the new-look United may not have as much patience as in previous years when offloading difficult players.

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