Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag insists he is on the “same page” as Cristiano Ronaldo amid the likelihood the Portuguese stays at the club. When asked if he had spoken to Ronaldo about his situation,
Erik Ten Hag said “Several times, yes. We are all on one page. From the start, we said we planned with him. It’s your vision, not my vision. We are happy with him, he’s happy to be here and we want to make the season a success together. The way of playing set the demand. You can see in training that it is clear that he has the capabilities. He will fit in because… I don’t have to explain. Great player. He will fit in every system or every style. Yes (he is receptive to our playing style), clear. That’s why we are talking, I said we are on one page. He knows what the demands are.”
Ronaldo has started one of United’s first four Premier League fixtures this season, having missed the entirety of their pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia. Even without the injured Anthony Martial, Ten Hag preferred to name the same attacking trio in the win over Southampton and Ronaldo struggled when he emerged in the second-half.It emerged in early July Ronaldo wanted to leave United and his agent, Jorge Mendes, offered him to Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid but all three clubs rejected the chance to sign Ronaldo. Napoli have been the most engaged club but a deal is unlikely, with the transfer deadline at 11pm on Thursday. The only concrete offer United have received for Ronaldo was a £30million bid from a Saudi Arabian club that they rejected. Although Ten Hag has been privately open to selling Ronaldo for several weeks, publicly he has repeatedly said the United player of the year is in his plans.
Martial sustained an Achilles injury in training last week and is out of the trip to Leicester on Thursday night and is expected to miss the visit of Arsenal on Sunday.
Ten Hag suggested the Frenchman’s lay-off could extend well into September: “At least this week but I think a little bit longer.”
