Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is "looking to the future" rather than dwelling on the past after drawing a line under the Cristiano Ronaldo saga.
Ronaldo's United contract was terminated by mutual consent last month following an explosive interview with Piers Morgan in which he said he felt "betrayed" by the club.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner also said he had "no respect" for Ten Hag, having been left frustrated by playing a bit-part role under the Dutchman this season.
Commenting on Ronaldo's tumultuous exit for the first time, Ten Hag made clear he wants to move on and focus only on the players in his squad.
"He's gone and it's the past," he told MUTV during United's warm-weather training camp in Spain. "We are now looking forward and we're looking to the future."
Ronaldo top-scored for United with 24 goals in all competitions last season, but he had been restricted to just four starts in United's opening 14 Premier League games this term.
United made a slow start to Ten Hag's first season in charge, but they have since recovered to move within three points of the top four with a game in hand.
"When you change things in organisation and change the way of playing, that takes time," said Ten Hag, who won three Eredivisie titles in five years with Ajax.
"In top-level football, you never get time. Opponents they want to kill you and that happened. We had to quickly adapt and I think our squad did terrific.
"The mentality changed and I think our way of playing changed during the season, the style, and I think we are growing and we have to keep the process going."
United beat Fulham 2-1 in their final outing prior to the five-week break for the World Cup, with their next competitive fixture an EFL Cup last-16 tie with Burnley on December 21.
Fifteen United players have been taking part in the World Cup, with 12 still remaining, and Ten Hag wants them to hit the ground running once they return to club duty.
"We had a plan. We have prepared the players with what the plan is so there can't be any confusion about what the programme is," Ten Hag said.
"We make the players aware of the fact that, after you are out of the World Cup, you have to return to the club and the league immediately goes on.
"Our players are winners, and they are battling now for the World Cup and in the moment they are out – hopefully one is the winner – they have to deal with that.
"With the success they have, or the defeats, they have to deal with it and of course they have to be ready for another challenge."
Kane, Mbappe and Osimhen – A look at Real Madrid’s possible striking targets
Real Madrid are in the market for a new centre-forward after announcing Karim Benzema’s departure.
The France international scored 354 goals in 648 appearances to become Real’s second all-time top scorer, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, during a 14-year stay in the Spanish capital.
Here, the PA news agency runs the rule over the main contenders to succeed Benzema at the Bernabeu.
Harry KaneEngland captain Kane would appear to be a natural fit for Real given his unceasing ability to score goals for Tottenham.
Kane, who has one year left on his Spurs contract, turns 30 next month, but that is unlikely to put Real off a striker who is the Premier League’s second highest goalscorer and will be strongly coveted by Manchester United and others this summer.
Real have tempted Gareth Bale and Luka Modric away from Tottenham in the past and might be hopeful of striking a deal, with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy unwilling to sell Kane to a Premier League rival in the past.
Kylian MbappeThe World Cup winner was seemingly on his way to Madrid last summer before choosing to stay at Paris St Germain and chase Champions League glory there.
Like Kane, Mbappe comes with a goals guarantee as he has scored more than 200 for PSG, but the Frenchman has more time on his side than the England forward as he does not celebrate his 25th birthday until December.
Mbappe is a thrilling spectacle in full flight and releasing him from his eye-watering PSG contract, which runs until June 2025, might take a world record transfer fee.
Victor OsimhenNapoli’s first Serie A title for 33 years was fuelled by the goals of Osimhen.
The 24-year-old Nigeria star scored 26 goals in 32 games, with the 6ft 1in striker’s game based around pace, power and athleticism.
Osimhen has two years remaining on his current Napoli deal and has also attracted interest from Manchester United, with Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag known to be a big admirer.
Kai HavertzOn the face of it, Germany international Havertz would appear to be a strange replacement for goal machine Benzema.
It would not be a like-for-like signing as the 23-year-old Havertz, in a false nine role, struggled to provide the goals Chelsea needed last season.
But his tactical intelligence could enable him to dovetail well with Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior and Real could get a reduction on the £76million Chelsea paid Bayer Leverkusen for Havertz in 2020.
Jonathan DavidCanada striker David has a growing reputation for club and country and seems ready to step on to a bigger stage after spells in Belgium and France.
The 23-year-old has scored over 50 Ligue 1 goals for Lille since joining from Gent in 2020, 24 of them coming this season.
David is known for his pace and versatility, as well his pressing ability out of possession, and can also operate as a second striker.
Football rumours: Manchester City look to tie down Erling Haaland to new deal
Manchester City are looking to fend off Real Madrid to keep hold of striker Erling Haaland, according to The Daily Telegraph. The double winners – who aim to complete the treble in Saturday’s Champions League final – are hoping the 22-year-old Norwegian signs a new deal.
City’s rivals Manchester United believe landing Tottenham striker Harry Kane is “unlikely”, says The Daily Telegraph. But they are on the brink of a £50million offer to Chelsea for midfielder Mason Mount.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have edged ahead of Paris St Germain in the pursuit of midfielder Manuel Ugarte from Sporting. The Daily Mirror says the proposed deal for the 22-year-old Uruguayan would include buying a minority stake in the Portuguese club.
Crystal Palace have offered Wilfried Zaha, 30, a fresh contract but they face competition from Al Sadd for the forward, according to The Sun. The deal is worth around £150,000 a week, which falls short of the offer from the Qatari side.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchHabib Diallo: West Ham and Burnley are keen on the 27-year-old Senegal striker from Strasbourg.
Jack Butland: The former England goalkeeper, 30, is wanted by Rangers after Crystal Palace opted not to extend his contract following a loan spell at Manchester United.
'When's it going to stop?' – Ref Support chief calls for end to 'silent' response to officials abuse
Football's governing bodies must do more to protect referees amid a "considerable rise" in abuse that has often been met with a "silent" response.
That was the message from Ref Support chief executive Martin Cassidy, who referenced issues with Bruno Fernandes, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Andrew Robertson in the Premier League this season.
Fernandes appeared to make contact with an assistant referee in Liverpool's 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United, while Mitrovic was banned for eight games after pushing Chris Kavanagh.
Robertson was another involved in an altercation with an official, when assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis seemingly made contact with the Liverpool left-back with his elbow, though the official faced no further punishment after an investigation.
A couple of seasons earlier, former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero came under scrutiny for placing his hand on the shoulder of assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis during a home victory over Arsenal.
Cassidy believes the response to the rise in these issues has been inadequate, calling on the likes of the League Managers Association (LMA) and Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to do more.
He told Stats Perform: "From a domestic point of view, what's been going on over here with the situations that [there has been] a considerable rise in contact with match officials from what's happened with Sian Massey-Ellis, Bruno Fernandes, Mitrovic, Robertson – it’s on the rise.
"When's it going to stop? And there are people who are silent on this who shouldn't be silent on this – the LMA, the PFA and even the Football Supporters' Association, they're all quiet on this, they comment on everything else.
"They will talk all these white papers and governments, and they tweet about enough is enough about things [that are important] to them, but they never come out and publicly condemn their behaviour by their members.
"The LMA never do it. We wrote to them, and we got a very benign, weak response. [The] PFA never say anything about the behaviour of their players – their members.
"Certainly, there never seems to be any stance from supporters associations who really want to stand up and say: 'Look, we are going to do something here, what's the protocols, what's the code of conduct for managers in the LMA, what is the code of conduct for a professional footballer with regard to how they behave with these post-match comments here?'
"So, there are a lot of silent people here who need to step up like the FA have in this country. When these people criticise the FA, the LMA and the PFA need to look at themselves and say what they are doing to address the situation that's caused directly by their members."
Cassidy acknowledged the problems span wider than English football, with the ill-tempered Europa League final between Roma and Sevilla marred by abuse of referee Anthony Taylor after the game.
Aside from refereeing issues, the ongoing racially motivated problems with Vinicius Junior and Spanish football continue – and Cassidy believes UEFA must improve.
"UEFA hasn't really got a good track record on what they've done with racism," he added. "So, they have been quite weak on that really and very erratic.
"Look at what has happened in Spain, they haven't really taken control of that. So, I'm not very hopeful that they'll respond to this in a manner that football wants it to respond to, but hopefully they prove us wrong.
"UEFA does, in particular with the UEFA foundation, some wonderful stuff. But when it comes to stuff like this, they don't seem to – look at what happened in the Champions League final last year, Liverpool-Real Madrid – they never really covered themselves in glory there.
"Let's take this opportunity, UEFA, let's make the game better. Let's come out hard and tough and let's send a message that this behaviour is totally unacceptable in our game."
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