Man United lost to Crystal Palace on the final day of the season. The song is called "1:28." It had all started so well. When Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United last August, 12 years after leaving for Real Madrid, the team were unbeaten in the Premier League and harbouring hopes of challenging for the title. But nine months on, United have just completed their worst season in Premier League history, finishing sixth with 58 points, 35 behind league-winning City. An agent of a senior player complained to the club that their client was being overlooked in promotional campaigns, according to a source. One of the most recognisable sporting stars in the world isRonaldo, he has more followers on his social media accounts than the rest of the United squad combined, and his fame extends to every corner of the globe. While the team was going for a sixth-place finish in the premier league and a spot in next season's Europa League, one player's representative was more concerned with how oftenRonaldo was used to promote the club's sponsors. The world of Manchester United is broken. You can watch the FC daily on the US version of the network.
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The lack of team spirit and togetherness within the squad is something that the interim manager, Ralf Rangnick, spoke about last week.
It was a season in which the team was led by three managers, and one in which humiliation was inescapable. There was a new low in terms of goals conceded and points tally as a result of the defeat at home to the Reds.
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According to sources, the rot set in under Solskjaer, who was seen as indecisive, weak and lacking tactical prowess. The Norwegian had told the players in preseason that he would introduce a 4-3-3 system which would allow the team to be more attack-minded, but as soon as the season started, he reverted to 4-2-3-1 and was unable to find a way to accommodate the new signing.
According to sources, there was disbelief that Solskjaer had allowed Edinson Cavani to spend two weeks on holiday in Uruguay and delay his return for the start of the season because the former Paris Saint-Germain forward wanted time with his family.
Sources said that the decision to give up the No. 7 jersey was made to secure the loyalty and commitment of the forward. The 35-year-old was told to fight for his place after United refused to let him go after his shirt number and first-team place was lost to the Portuguese.
Cavani was angry that it got dark outside at 3 pm, despite his difficulties adjusting to life in Manchester. He started eight games for United and only scored twice, so nobody benefited from him staying.
Anthony Martial was another player whose mood changed with the arrival ofRonaldo, with the France international largely overlooked by Solskjaer and Rangnick before joining Sevilla on loan in January. The handling of Martial and Cavani was even more surprising because of Marcus Rashford's form and fitness problems. After playing in the Euro 2020 final, the England forward delayed surgery on his injured shoulder and went on to have his worst season for the club.
According to sources, senior figures at United tried to convince Marcus to take a break from his off-field commitments to focus on regaining his form and fitness, but he chose to combine both. He ended the season with five goals in 32 appearances and lost his England place, though he alone was not to blame for United's poor form.
Things went from bad to worse whenSolskjaer was fired in November because he couldn't stop the slide.
According to sources, the Old United hierarchy viewed Antonio Conte as an immediate successor to Solskjaer, despite the fact that he had only been in charge for three games.
United embarked on a process to identify a long-term appointment. The 63-year-old German, who did little to impress a sceptical squad by hiring unknown coaches, admitted to teammates that he had to go to the internet.
According to sources, Rangnick was compromised by the decision of both Carrick and McKenna to leave their coaching roles and then saw three potential appointments ruled out by unavailability or red tape, but Armas and Sharp were still his appointments. When he was warned that managing United would lead to unprecedented scrutiny of his results and decision-making in the media and among supporters, he set alarm bells ringing within the club.
The source said that Ralf knew what to expect when he moved to a big club.
According to sources, the Portugal forward made it clear to the club that he would not stay if the interim boss was given the job on a permanent basis, and that he was not the only one who was unimpressed by the coaches.
After a disappointing season for Manchester United, the man looks to the future.
Several players had become angered by the outspoken comments made by Rangnick in news conferences and tensions within the squad began to grow, with the comments about players includingRonaldo, Harry Maguire, and Marcus Rashford adding to the tension.
The British players tended to stick together while the foreign players took their lead, according to a source.
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The bad feeling began to extend itself to those connected to the players, with sources telling ESPN that two rival groups were involved in heated exchanges in Madrid prior to the first leg against Atleti in February.
There was a suspicion within the club that some of the leaks coming from the dressing room were from specific camps, with one in particular being a persistent problem. According to sources at United's Carrington training ground, the atmosphere within the staff and players' canteen was bad by the end of February.
There were more angry exchanges at half-time during the 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Reds in April due to the fact that Rangnick decided to play with three at the back, handing Phil Jones a first appearance in almost three months, and then replacing the former England defender at half- The decision to substitute Jones at half-time was easy because he didn't have the bottle to take Harry off.
Despite agreeing to a two-year contract with United, Rangnick decided to take up the role of Austria coach.
The Austria job gave United a reason to move him this summer, according to a source.
What will happen now? After winning the race to take charge of United, Ten Hag has already impressed his new bosses with his determination to begin work ahead of his July 1 start date.
Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata will both leave as free agents, while Paul Pogba will be ushered into the background. This summer, Matic will leave the club.
Three months into his role as chief executive, Richard Arnold has already made changes to the scouting network and media department, and he replaced executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward at the end of January. The staff at United appreciated Arnold.
One source said that Richard is different to Ed. The guy in charge has an idea of what he wants to do and how he will do it.
When he took over, he invited club legends such as Bryan Robson, Denis Irwin and Gary Neville to tell him what he wanted to do but also hear their ideas. The atmosphere has changed for the better.
With Ten Hag promising to make a big decision and a sense of change in the air at Old United, the worst season in over 30 years may just be the line, but it will take more than dining with staff and canvassing former players for United to return to their glory days. Can things get any worse?
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