Cristiano Ronaldo 'snapped' at Erik ten Hag after Man Utd boss 'imposed jewellery ban'

The feud between Cristiano Ronaldo and Erik ten Hag has been reignited this week after the Portugal icon launched his own YouTube channel, but now a new reason for their mutual dislike of each other may have emerged. International football’s record goalscorer left the club in November 2022 after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan, where he accused the Dutch manager of disrespecting him with his team selection.

Two months later, the 39-year-old departed to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he has continued the relentless scoring form that has signified his career.

Ronaldo has struck 68 times in 75 games for the Middle East club, but his controversial departure from Old Trafford has continued to divide opinion among fans, given their inconsistent form under Ten Hag.

Now, fresh reports have suggested that the problems between Ronaldo and his former boss begun almost as soon as the Dutchman arrived in Manchester in the summer of 2022. And according to the Manchester Evening News, their first row centred over the forward’s liking of wearing an earring.

Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has worn an earring for the vast majority of his career. But this seemingly didn’t sit well with Ten Hag, who shortly after being introduced to the star asked him to remove it.

Ronaldo reportedly ‘snapped’ at the request, refusing to adhere to the request. After returning to the club in the summer of 2021, he wore it under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.

The situation was said to have reached boiling point when Ten Hag grew fed up of being ignored, and asked assistant Steve McClaren to intervene. But that approach reportedly backfired when Ronaldo responded to the former England boss by hurling his earrings, said to be worth around £1000, into a bush.

Relations between the pair scarcely improved from there. Despite scoring 24 times in the previous campaign, the Real Madrid legend was confined to a bit-part role before his one-on-one chat with Morgan essentially ended his stint in England.

Following the YouTube launch, ‘CR7’ has taken aim at Ten Hag again in an interview with former team-mate Rio Ferdinand. Referencing the 54-year-old’s pre-season comments that the club couldn’t realistically compete for the top trophies, he said: “Manchester United, they need to rebuild everything, in my opinion.

“The coach, they say they cannot compete to win the League and Champions League. Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you're not going to fight to win the League or Champions League.

"This club needs time to rebuild because it's still one of the best clubs in the world, but they need to change. They understand that. This is the only way. This is why they show, they start to change again, the structure of the club, the president, the infrastructures and everything.”