Why Cristiano Ronaldo is ‘dismayed’ at Man Utd
Robin Bairner
- 8 Oct 2022 08:02 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo is “dismayed” by his position at Manchester United, according to a report.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has featured very much as a peripheral player for the Red Devils this season, having to settle for a place on the bench in the big games and starting secondary fixtures such as the Europa League matches.
Ronaldo did not play a single minute of Man Utd’s 6-3 loss against Manchester City last Sunday, and though Erik ten Hag claimed that was out of respect for his great career, it is a decision and a comment that has drawn wide criticism.
Meanwhile, it has affected even Ronaldo’s form. He has scored just one goal this season and has even been criticised for his performances with Portugal.
Ronaldo, unsurprisingly, is unhappy with the situation.
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As detailed by The Times, the 37-year-old attacker is frustrated with life under Ten Hag.
Sources within Man Utd state that Ronaldo is “often at loggerheads with the latest coach of his long, and until now, relentlessly successful career. They speak of a footballer who complains about the nature and quality of training sessions, and who thinks United would be better off playing a different way.
“Ronaldo is said to consider Ten Hag stubborn and unnecessarily wedded to an approach that worked impressively well at Ajax, yet has delivered catastrophic defeats to Brentford and City in his first 10 United matches.”
Ronaldo will seek a January transfer
Ronaldo’s situation at Man Utd is clearly tense, and having unsuccessfully pushed for a transfer in the summer, there will be a renewed effort to depart the club in January after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Ten Hag is privately open to losing the Portuguese, with the belief that is sale will give him one less headache to deal with.
The stumbling block over Ronaldo’s exit, though, comes from Man Utd’s hierarchy, who may have to take a financial hit for the superstar to depart.
