File photograph of Cristiano Ronaldo.© AFP
New Manchester United supervisor Erik ten Hag stated Monday that Cristiano Ronaldo was “not for sale”, regardless of the Portuguese celebrity skipping the pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia. Ronaldo missed the beginning of coaching with the English Premier League giants final week attributable to a household situation. The 37-year-old didn’t make the aircraft for the pre-season journey, with reviews saying he needs to depart after United’s failure to qualify for the Champions League. Speaking on the eve of the Old Trafford membership’s first pre-season pleasant towards Liverpool in Bangkok on Tuesday, Ten Hag stated: “We are planning for Cristiano Ronaldo for the season and that’s it and I’m looking forward to working with him.
“I’ve learn it, however what I say is Cristiano is just not on the market, he’s in our plans and we wish success collectively.”
United’s new Dutch manager revealed he had spoken to the unsettled striker before the reports emerged last week that he wanted to leave.
“I spoke with him earlier than this situation got here up,” said Ten Hag.
“I had a dialog with him and we had an actual good speak.”
However he refused to be drawn on the substance of the conversation, stating that it was “between Cristiano and me”.
Ronaldo reportedly asked to leave after being unhappy with the club’s poor form since his return to Manchester last year — they finished sixth in the English Premier League, condemning them to the second-tier Europa League next season.
Ten Hag only arrived at United in May after finishing his successful spell at Ajax — but faces a huge challenge to rebuild the Old Trafford club, who have not won a trophy since 2017.
Maguire stays captain
Ronaldo scored 24 goals in all competitions last season and was named the club’s player of the year.
Promoted
Ten Hag also said that England defender Harry Maguire would remain as club captain.
“He is a longtime captain for greater than 4 years,” he said, adding that the 29-year-old player “has achieved a whole lot of success so I do not doubt about this situation”.
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