The Cristiano Ronaldo mistake Erik ten Hag must learn from when making big Manchester United decisions

Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha believes that although Erik ten Hag made the correct decision to let Cristiano Ronaldo leave, he did not go the right way about it.

Ronaldo and United parted ways in November after the Portuguese star's controversial interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV. During the conversation, the 38-year-old claimed he felt 'disrespected' by Ten Hag while also criticising the Glazers and former teammates Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville.

The forward ended up going to the World Cup as a free agent before joining Saudi Arabia club Al Nassr. United, meanwhile, have seen their form continue to improve albeit they still lack regular goalscorers.

ALSO READ: Al Nassr will struggle to grant Ronaldo's Mourinho wish

And Saha, speaking exclusively to MEN Sport, admitted Ten Hag has been justified in his call to axe Ronaldo but said he remains uneasy with they way he treated his old teammate.

"I think Ten Hag made the right decision allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to leave, now time has passed," he said. "There is more consistency in the way communication is managed. The discussion is now one game to the other, whereas because Cristiano was upset at not playing, the attention from the media on him was huge.

"Ronaldo was doing his part, but the pressure a player like that provides to the manager is intense. So it was really hard for him to manage. Whether it was the right decision by Ten Hag in how he dealt with it, I’m not sure. There’s always going to be a doubt because Ronaldo had a legacy that football needed.

"I believe some people have tarnished his contribution, that’s my view. I felt the way he did it, even if it was the right decision, it perhaps wasn’t the right way to do it because of the