How Ronaldo reacted badly to Ten Hag’s tactical advice
Karan Tejwani
- Updated: 2 Aug 2022 08:33 BST
- 3 min read
A video involving Cristiano Ronaldo in tense discussions with Erik ten Hag has emerged online, taken during Manchester United’s final pre-season friendly against Spanish side Rayo Vallecano.
Earlier in the summer, Ronaldo made it clear he wishes to leave Manchester United, hoping to go to a club where he can play Champions League football, however, no move has come to fruition.
He missed the Red Devil’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia entirely, citing family reasons, before returning to training with agent Jorge Mendes to hold talks over his future.
Over the summer, clubs such as Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea have rejected the opportunity to sign the Portuguese, with the financial cost of the operation too high and team’s having no clear tactical fit with him.
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On Sunday, however, he made his return in a Manchester United shirt against the La Liga side, playing one half of football, which ended scoreless.
There was a break in between where the entire team went to the dugout for refreshments, and new boss Ten Hag came over to Ronaldo to provide some advice on the team.
However, in footage filmed by a fan, it was visible that Ronaldo wasn’t entirely grasping Ten Hag’s instructions, and many believed his body language didn’t seem right.
That raised questions over his professionalism and desire for the team, and more questions were raised later on in the day when pictures emerged of him leaving the stadium before full time.
Erik ten Hag believes that Cristiano Ronaldo needs game time and a lot of training to regain full match fitness 💪
[🎥] Viaplay pic.twitter.com/r3igTe9Sz1— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 31, 2022
Ronaldo was substituted at half-time, as the match ended 1-1, but he left before the final whistle, raising further doubts amongst fans, but the club cleared that up, saying they authorized his early departure.
Earlier, Ten Hag claimed that Ronaldo would need more time in training to get him up to speed with the rest of the team in terms of fitness, having missed most of pre-season.
The Portuguese forward still wishes to leave the club, with Atletico Madrid and Napoli seemingly his only two options as he wishes to return to a club playing in Europe’s elite competition.
If he can’t secure a move in that time, Ronaldo will have to settle with playing in the Europa League, something he hasn’t done since he was a teenager at his first club, Sporting.
