Erik ten Hag was back in England on Friday night as his new Bayer Leverkusen side were beaten by Chelsea in their latest pre-season warm-up.

Ten Hag left Manchester United in October 2024 after a poor start to the season and was out of work for the remainder of the campaign, before being appointed as Xabi Alonso’s successor at Leverkusen.

The Dutchman has lost key men Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong to Liverpool, while Granit Xhaka left to join Sunderland. His first friendly game was a heavy defeat to Flamengo’s under-20 side, but three much-needed victories have followed before they fell to a 2-0 loss at Chelsea on Friday.

Ten Hag’s time at United was often a struggle, even despite their Carabao Cup and FA Cup successes that prolonged his tenure. He may be remembered most for his handling of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was sold after falling out with Ten Hag and criticising him in an interview.

Erik ten Hag says he has ‘no problem’ with Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo’s rocky relationship with Ten Hag saw him refuse to come on as a substitute, before criticising the running of the club in a prime time interview. After leaving for Al-Nassr, Ronaldo took aim at Ten Hag saying United would never win the league under him.

Ten Hag has always responded diplomatically when asked about Ronaldo, and adopted the same approach when asked a strange question at Stamford Bridge on Friday.

Asked if Ronaldo’s latest hat-trick for Al-Nassr meant he was ‘still the problem’ for the Dutchman, a bemused Ten Hag replied: “For me, [there] is no problem, he was never the problem. I think that’s the past. It was what happened; it’s the past.

“After that we won two trophies at Manchester United, and I wish him all the best for the future, I wish him the best of luck.”

Erik ten Hag and Cristiano Ronaldo have had contrasting fortunes since clashing at Manchester United

Ronaldo left United by mutual consent in November 2022 after his damaging interview, signing for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr a month later. In over 100 appearances for the Saudi side, Ronaldo has 93 goals and 19 assists as he sits just six goals away from 800 career club goals.

He is still a force at international level, too, representing Portugal 221 times with 138 goals, and he comfortably sits as the top goal scorer of all time. Returning to Al-Nassr, the former Real Madrid winger has won the Golden Boot and Player of the Season twice each, but is yet to win a title in Saudi Arabia.

As for Ten Hag, he led United to the Carabao Cup title in 2023 and the 2024 FA Cup – the latter earning him a new contract despite being on the verge of losing his job. But that extension would only last a few months and United parted ways with Ten Hag in October 2024 as they sat 14th in the Premier League.

After a few months out of work, Ten Hag is back in management with Bayer Leverkusen, looking to build on Xabi Alonso’s fine work and last season’s second-placed finish.