Manchester United fans are in no doubt that Bayer Leverkusen will soon find that Dutch manager Erik ten Hag is not exactly the most inspiring person on the planet.
Erik ten Hag visibly shocked and “hurt” when the reporter asked what some thought was a “disgusting” question after Bayer Leverkusen’s defeat to Chelsea.
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Ten Hag was questioned after his Leverkusen defeat 2-0 to Chelsea.
Leverkusen lost 2-0 to the Blues on Friday night in what was their last friendly before the start of the season.
Ten Hag will be in charge of his first official match for his new club when they face Grossaspach in the DFB-Pokal next Friday. However, after the defeat to Chelsea, the Dutch coach was clearly put off by one of the questions from a reporter.
Instead of asking Ten Hag about the Leverkusen game, the reporter chose to bring up former United striker Cristiano Ronaldo, and a hat-trick he scored in Al Nassr’s 4-0 win over Portuguese club Rio Ave.
The reporter asked:
“Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the players in the best form right now. He scored a hat-trick yesterday. Is he still the problem?”
He referred to Ten Hag’s conflict with Ronaldo, which was one of the reasons why the Portuguese legend left Old Trafford in 2022 – but almost three years later, it is not very relevant to the current situation.
Ten Hag responded in a diplomatic manner:
“For me, it’s not a problem. He was never the problem. I think it’s a thing of the past. That’s what happened – it’s over now. After that, we won two trophies with Manchester United. I wish him all the best for the future, and I wish him the best of luck in the future.”
Fans reacted to the question, with one writing on Twitter:
“No reason for the reporter to ask that.”
Another observed,
“Look how hurt he looked at that question. It really hit him unprepared!”
A third agreed:
“There was absolutely no reason for that question.”
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