Manchester United new manager Erik Ten Hag has addressed the rumours of Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo asking to leave the club this summer. Manchester United finished sixth on the points table last season in Premier League which demoted them to Europa League this season. Ronaldo, who is the leading goal-scorer in UCL, will play Europa League for the first time if he decided to stay at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo has not attended the pre-season with the Premier League giants citing personal reasons as the club has allowed him to take leave. However, several reports have linked Ronaldo to a move to United’s direct rivals Chelsea as his Jorge Mendes has reportedly held a meeting with the new Blues owner to discuss the transfer.
Manchester United will play against Liverpool in their first friendly of the pre-season in Bangkok on July 12, before flying to Melbourne, where they take on Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace.
While Ten Hag has dismissed the rumours and stated that Ronaldo is not up for sale and he is looking forward to working with the prolific goal-scorer this season.
“He hasn’t told me this. I have read, but as I say, Cristiano is not for sale, he’s in our plans and we want to get success together. We are planning with Ronaldo for this season – that’s it. I’m looking forward to working with him. I spoke with him before this issue came up. I had a conversation him and had a real good talk," Ten Hag told media persons.
Ronaldo rejoined Manchester United last season after his three-year stint where he failed to help the Bianconeri to win the Champions League title. However, things turned even more worse for him with United as the Premier League giants had a disappointing trophyless season. Ronaldo netted 24 goals on his comeback last season.
Ten Hag was appointed the manager this season after Ralf Ragnick’s tenure as interim head coach ended. The Dutch have announced that Harry Maguire will remain Manchester United captain this season despite the criticism he faced last season.
“Harry Maguire is the captain. He’s an established captain, he’s achieved a lot of success, so I don’t doubt this issue," Ten Hag said.
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