LONDON — Erik ten Hag insists
Cristiano Ronaldo still has a
future at Manchester United after the Portugal star suffered the embarrassment
of being dropped for his side’s rousing 2–1 win against Liverpool.
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United looked far more dynamic without Ronaldo as
they stunned Liverpool to end a dismal run of two successive defeats at the
start of the Premier League season.
With the aging Ronaldo reduced to a substitute
appearance in the closing minutes at Old Trafford on Monday, United were
finally able to successfully deploy Ten Hag’s aggressive game plan.
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and
Anthony Elanga formed an attacking triumvirate that gave United the pace and energy they
lacked in the 2–1 defeat against Brighton and the subsequent 4–0 humiliation at
Brentford.
Vindicating Ten Hag’s decision to axe Ronaldo and
igniting fresh debate about his future, it was Sancho who scored United’s
opener and Rashford who doubled their lead.
After missing United’s pre-season tour due to
“family reasons” amid reports he had told the club he wanted to leave, Ronaldo
was already unsettled heading into the new season.
United’s failure to qualify for this season’s
Champions League convinced Ronaldo he should quit a club without a major trophy
since 2017, giving Ten Hag a major headache just weeks after his arrival from
Ajax.
But, with United insisting Ronaldo is not for sale,
the former Real Madrid and Juventus striker has found himself in limbo.
The 37-year-old, who finished as United’s top scorer
last term, hardly appeared committed to the Ten Hag regime when he walked out
of Old Trafford before full-time after being substituted during a pre-season
friendly against Rayo Vallecano.
A limp substitute appearance in the second half of
the Brighton defeat was further evidence of a potential rift between the
five-time Ballon d’Or winner and his manager.
Ronaldo played the entire 90 minutes of United’s
loss against Brentford, but he offered little attacking threat in one of the
club’s worst results in recent memory.
‘Difficult decisions’
That left Ten Hag with a
major decision to make as he pondered his team for the crucial clash with
Liverpool.
Dropping Ronaldo and then watching United lose to
their arch-rivals would have put huge pressure on Ten Hag.
But the Dutch coach refused to be cowed by the
situation as he left out by Ronaldo and England defender Harry Maguire, a bold
move that paid dividends as United climbed out of the relegation zone with
their first win this season.
Now United have won impressively without Ronaldo —
surely consigning him to the bench for the immediate future — there could be
fresh impetus from the striker and his agent Jorge Mendes to force through a
transfer.
It is hard to imagine Ronaldo being able to adapt to
Ten Hag’s high-tempo philosophy in the twilight of his career.
But, publicly at least, Ten Hag is adamant Ronaldo
has a part to play in his plans.
In Ronaldo’s absence, United’s defiant attitude
against Liverpool provided the template for the Ten Hag era.
New signing Casemiro, recruited from
Real Madrid,
epitomizes that spirit and Ten Hag wants to see the same from Ronaldo.
“We were talking about leadership, today we had
leadership on the pitch, he is one as well,” Ten Hag said of Casemiro.
“Ronaldo has it, so you need some and it is like
guidance for young players who didn’t achieve the trophies.”
Pressed on Ronaldo and Maguire’s future, Ten Hag
added: “I don’t have to mention Harry Maguire and Ronaldo, they are amazing
players and they will play a role in the future, the short (term) future as
well.
“It is always difficult (to leave them out) but I
have decisions to make.”
Whether that olive branch is enough to stop the Ronaldo
dilemma from derailing Ten Hag’s United revolution remains to be seen.
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