Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has dismissed the idea that Cristiano Ronaldo has to come to terms with being a full player after failing to walk away from Old Trafford.
Ronaldo had tried to walk away from Old Trafford after asking for a transfer, but failed to find a suitor to satisfy his desire for Champions League football and challenge for trophies before the window closed on Thursday.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has a year left on his contract with United, was used on the bench in a 26-minute appearance in United’s 1-0 win at Leicester City on Thursday. Ronaldo has only made one start this Premier League season, with four appearances from the bench.
The 37-year-old missed United’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia for personal reasons, and Ten Hag suggested finding match conditioning was behind his role as a substitute rather than falling in order hierarchical, and that he could enter the starting lineup. in the coming weeks.
“It’s really early in the season,” Ten Hag said. “We have a squad, plus 11 starting XI players. That’s what you see now.
“The players who are now on the bench can play in one, two or three weeks.
“We are a team, they stick together, they fight for each other, cooperate. Now we have to go further.”
Ronaldo is yet to score this term for United, but scored 24 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions last season, including a team-high 18 in the Premier League.
The Portuguese icon had been linked with Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Sporting CP, Napoli and Bayern Munich in recent weeks but nothing materialized.
