“He’s Pissed Off At Not Playing”: Erik Ten Hag On Cristiano Ronaldo’s Situation At Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United hasn’t gone as he had planned. During his first season of the second stint at United, Ronaldo failed to help the team qualify for the Champions League despite being their top-scorer with 18 goals. In the second season, Ronaldo has barely gotten the opportunity to play, having been forced to sit on the bench as manager Erik Ten Hag prefers other players.

While speculations over Ronaldo possibly looking to leave Manchester United in the winter transfer window are rife, Ten Hag has claimed that the superstar forward is infuriated over his lack of playing time.

“He’s pissed off at not playing. But he is training well,” Ten Hag said a press conference on Wednesday. ”I don’t see he is unhappy. He is happy, training well, everyone is.”

Ronaldo has been reduced to a squad player at the club this season as Ten Hag is preferring younger players like Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Antony in the attacking positions. Manchester United legend Roy Keane even claimed that Ronaldo has being disrespected by the club after he remained an unused substitute in United’s 3-6 defeat to Manchester City over the weekend.

Ten Hag, however, has a different take on the matter. He said: ”I will treat everyone with respect but they all have different backgrounds, characters. I have to treat everyone different to get the best out of them, but there are general standards and values for everyone.”

Promoted

Ronaldo is expected to be in the starting XI as United take on Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League on Thursday. Desperate for goals, the Portuguese would hope to hit the back of the net in the pursuit of regular opportunities at the club.

So far in this campaign, Ronaldo has only scored one goal in the Europa League. In the Premier League, on the other hand, the 37-year-old is yet to open his account.