Cristiano Ronaldo axed by Erik ten Hag in showdown meeting before Manchester United’s win over Liverpool

Cristiano Ronaldo was dropped by Erik ten Hag in front of his Manchester United teammates in a two-hour meeting before their win over Liverpool, according to reports.

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After two woeful performances which led to defeats against Brighton and Brentford, the pressure was raised on Ten Hag ahead of United’s derby clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday evening.

But goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford helped secure a 2-1 victory over Jurgen Klopp’s side, while United delivered an aggressive and tenacious display which has not been seen in months.

According to The Sun, Ten Hag held a clear-the-air meeting with his United players last Thursday and he used the opportunity to inform the players that both Ronaldo and captain Harry Maguire would not start against Liverpool at Old Trafford.

The report claims that Ten Hag ‘laid down the law’ to his United players and gave a ‘no-nonsense address’ to the squad in which is said any player is free to leave if they do not want to play for him.

Ten Hag also used the meeting, in which he gave the players the chance to air their grievances, to tell Rashford that he would be leading United’s attack instead of Ronaldo.

The report also claims that Ten Hag has been unhappy with the uncertainty over Ronaldo’s future and would now rather the 37-year-old leave United before the end of the transfer window.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Jorge Mendes has recently held talks with AC Milan and Napoli as he has made new efforts to find Ronaldo a club in the Champions League.

Mendes has already contacted Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Sporting CP this summer but there have been no takers for