Manchester United’s new manager, Dutchman Eric Ten Hag, is coming under additional pressure, which was necessary due to Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo asking to leave the Red Devils, confusing plans to revive the team and return him to his place among the seniors.
Just a year after returning to United from Italy’s Juventus, who lost the Portuguese star in a scenario similar to what is now happening with the Red Devils, the world’s best player is trying to leave Old Trafford five times.
And the British media have reported in the last few days that Ronaldo has told United that he wants to leave and join a Champions League team next season and not be content with entering the Europa League competition.
Despite Ronaldo’s success in showing himself as United’s top scorer last season and the Premier League’s third with 18 goals, the Red Devils were content to finish in sixth place and thus promoted to the League Europe”. “.
United are insisting that his Portuguese star, who scored 24 goals in all competitions last season, is reportedly not for sale and Ten Hag is keen to work with him, but it looks like the latter won’t grant his wish and the absence of two preparatory exercises for next season was the first sign that a breakup was likely. Very much, despite the fact that there is still a year left for the star, crowned champion of the Champions League five times.
Reports have indicated that Ronaldo’s agent, his compatriot Jorge Mendes, has held talks with Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Napoli Italy as part of his quest to find a team capable of meeting the aspirations of the Portuguese star who wants to compete in the Champions League. . next season, especially as he is thirty-seven years old and can’t wait for the 2022-23 season to compete against United, who are already facing stiff competition in the presence of five man Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea ”, “Tottenham” and Arsenal.
Ten Hag was pleased with the idea of working with Ronaldo next season, but the former Ajax Amsterdam manager may have to plan ahead without his best players, starting with a pre-season tour of Asia and Australia.
It remains to be seen if Ronaldo will join the team before he travels to Thailand on Friday. And if he does not catch up with his colleagues, his departure from Old Trafford will be almost certain.
Ronaldo grumbles. – The new owner of Chelsea, American Todd Boehle, is believed to be delighted with the idea of starting a new era at Stamford Bridge with a deal of the caliber of Ronaldo.
But it remains to be seen whether the London club’s German coach Thomas Tuchel is ready to sign a player as “dominant” as the Portuguese, who, despite being 37 years old, hasn’t lost a bit of his scoring instinct but rarely showed signs of wanting to be part of the high-pressure plan that he converted. United’s other interim manager, German Ralf Rangnick, last season.
Reports have claimed that Ronaldo’s laziness on the pitch, his lack of enthusiasm and desire to help his colleagues prompted Rangnick to try to convince United director of football John Murtaugh to sell the Portuguese during last January’s winter transfer window.
The German’s request to keep Ronaldo in the team was not approved due to his constant grumbling, which manifested itself in his getting into an argument with Rangnick after being substituted during a match at Brentford Stadium, while there were reports of problems between the Portuguese star and captain Harry Maguire.
Ten Hag is of course aware that life rarely goes smoothly with Ronaldo and may be wondering if the Portuguese’s departure would be better for him and the team, as the focus will be more on the group than on trying to please whoever considers himself a top star.
In light of the vast technical differences between United and its neighbor City and rivals Liverpool, Ten Hag understands that he must rid himself of the toxic atmosphere in the team in order to try and lead him to his first league title since his last season with ” Liverpool”. legendary Scottish coach Alex Ferguson in 2013.
The departure of a grumpy and surly player in Frenchman Paul Pogba was a step in the right direction, and Ten Hag is looking to find a combination that suits him personally and fits in with his plans with several deals in the coming days.
Reports indicated that Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen had agreed to a three-year contract, while Feyenoord left-back Terrell Malasia was close to signing with the Red Devils.
Ten Hag is also chasing fellow Barcelona midfielder Franky de Jong and former Ajax defender Lisandro Martins.
These deals will be encouraging, but it remains more important for Ten Hag to solve Ronaldo’s problem without letting the problem get out of control and affect team morale.