Ten Hag lays down law to Ronaldo - where do Man Utd pair go from here?
FT Desk
- 8 Aug 2022 10:40 CDT
- 3 min read
Erik ten Hag showed once again at the weekend that he would not be cowed by the larger than life figure of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United, but this is only the beginning for the new boss.
Having barely featured at all in pre-season training, the Ronaldo PR machine kicked into full gear ahead of Sunday's Premier League opener against Brighton.
The word was that despite seeing only 45 minutes of action over the summer the striker was in fine shape and angling for a start at Old Trafford in Ten Hag's competitive debut on the bench.
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The Dutchman disagreed, however, leaving Ronaldo as a substitute behind starting trio Marcus Rashford, Christian Eriksen and Jadon Sancho.
As it happened the veteran was thrown into the action after a dreadful first half but could do little to change the course of the game as Brighton celebrated a famous 2-1 victory in Manchester.
But coupled with the continued speculation that he wants out of the club, the showdown between player and manager looks set to rumble on throughout the first weeks of the 2022-23 season.
What's next for Ronaldo & Ten Hag?
Despite Ronaldo's grimaces and sullen expression on the bench, CBS journalist Ben Jacobs does not believe the pair's relationship has suffered a serious breakdown.
"I think Ronaldo reacted in exactly the way you would expect after a really disappointing 2-1 defeat to Brighton," Jacobs explained.
"We've all seen pictures of him sitting on the bench looking unimpressed, as was Ten Hag, a real baptism of fire for Ten Hag in his first game and Ronaldo having returned.
"My understanding is that there's not too much bad blood between Ronaldo and Ten Hag over being benched, Ronaldo felt that he was fully fit but of course he hasn't been integrated under the Ten Hag style.
"It's all very well Ronaldo maintaining that he's been training to a high level and has completed a semi-private pre-season but Ten Hag hasn't seen any of that, he has to make a statement. So if he knows that Ronaldo would like a move away before the window shuts, if Ronaldo returns and gets thrown straight away into the starting line-up what kind of message does that send to the rest of the squad?
"It's almost like a power battle, not in an aggressive way or with acrimony, but Ten Hag wants to make it clear in my opinion that starting Ronaldo was not going to happen."
