Man United boss outlines Ronaldo’s plans – RT Sport News

New Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has again said Cristiano Ronaldo is at the heart of his plans for the coming season, even as new rumors emerge that the Portuguese star is seeking an exit strategy from Old Trafford.

Ronaldo has been heavily linked with a move out of the club after failing to secure Champions League football following a disastrous 2021-22 campaign co-written by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and, after him, Ralf Rangnick.

It has been reported that Ronaldo has asked the club to accept all reasonable offers for his services, his agent Jorge Mendes has reportedly approached several of Europe’s biggest clubs to offer his client’s services – although many of them ruled out to sign the 37-year contract. former player, who still earns one of the highest salaries in European football.

However, Ronaldo’s market is clearly not as robust as it once might have been.

One by one, top clubs began to distance themselves from the moves of international football’s all-time top scorer.

Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and perhaps a few others, by word or deed, have all ruled out bringing in a player with prodigious goalscoring ability – out of fear, it is believed to incite a similar malaise that plagued the Manchester United dressing room last season.

This presented the player and his employers with an uncomfortable truth: Ronaldo could well be at Manchester United next season. And it would be against his own will.

Publicly, United and Ten Hag are showing courage despite suggestions that Ronaldo’s style of play is awkward compared to the new philosophy the Dutchman wants to instill in his team.

His Ajax side were known for their extreme forward pressing; an attribute this vintage version of Ronaldo is simply not equipped with, but as part of a media campaign this week while on a pre-season tour with his club Ten Hag was quick to challenge that narrative .

« Cristiano is able to [pressing from the front]“Ten Hag told the Guardian. « In his career, he has shown everything.

« I defined my request. We want to play a certain way. A top player can contribute and Ronaldo is an absolute top player in our team.

« Players dictate how you play. Especially players who score goals because they are extremely important for a team. You build your team around them.”

Whether or not these statements contradict what is really going on behind the scenes remains an important question. Does Ronaldo and his representatives continue to fuss over a departure, and if so, how does that interact with Ten Hag’s plans for next season?

Ronaldo, or more succinctly his 24 goals from the last campaign, will need to be substituted – or at the very least addressed – but the lingering veil of uncertainty surrounding the player clearly threatens to undermine the atmosphere of Ten Hag’s brave new world. in the red half of Manchester.

Ronaldo doesn’t appear to have given the new regime his real blessing yet, and Ten Hag confirmed he has yet to hold a real summit with the player over his future – whoever it is, or wherever it is.

The Dutchman offered a simple but telling answer when asked if he had spoken with Ronaldo while he was absent from the club’s pre-season plans in Australia.

« The same status as last week in Bangkok, » he said. « No change.”

But change has indeed come at Old Trafford – and it’s still unclear if Ronaldo will be part of it.