Erik ten Hag won't stand in Cristiano Ronaldo's way to a Manchester United exit in January, according to fresh claims.
The 37-year-old megastar wanted to leave Old Trafford during the summer transfer window but failed to secure a move away, despite the efforts of super agent Jorge Mendes. It's left Ronaldo as a benchwarmer for the Red Devils, with Ten Hag handing him mere two starts since United's 4-0 humiliation at Brentford on August 13 - his only starting berth in seven Premier League games this season.
Back then, the Dutch coach was keen to keep the five-time Ballon d'Or winner for his maiden campaign in the Old Trafford hot seat. Now, though, Ten Hag is ready to sanction his exit, with Ronaldo eyeing a January departure, according to the Telegraph.
The Portugal captain, who's said to have remained highly professional during his predicament, hopes that a strong showing at the World Cup in Qatar this winter will tempt a Champions League club to sign him when the window reopens shortly after the tournament's conclusion. If a suitable offer arrives, then it's believed that Old Trafford chiefs will wave goodbye to their legendary No.7 after less than 18 months back in Manchester.
Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure whilst sat on the bench during the Red Devils' 6-3 mauling at the hands of bitter rivals City in Sunday's Manchester derby. Despite making all of his five available substitutions, Ten Hag opted not to bring Ronaldo on "out of respect" for his "big career."
The dismal defeat led to calls from United legends Roy Keane and Rio Ferdinand to start their former teammate, whose only goal this campaign came from the penalty spot against Moldovan minnows FC Sheriff in the Europa League. Keane claims that Ten Hag has shown "disrespect" towards Ronaldo, warning that the situation will soon turn "ugly."
"I think he should have been let go before the transfer window," the Old Trafford icon bemoaned on Sky Sports. "I think the manager is holding on to him – okay, you say you need options, but you don’t hold on to Ronaldo to sit on the bench. He's one of the greatest players ever. He had options – this idea that he’d no options is rubbish, he did have options, four or five very good options.
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"Okay, today the manager, he brought [Anthony] Martial on and he scored two, so yeah, that's justified, but generally speaking, the bigger picture, he's not going to play Ronaldo, we know that. He’s played in one or two European games. It's just going to get uglier as the season goes on."
Ferdinand, meanwhile, was in agreement with Keane and slammed Ten Hag's decision to bench Ronaldo against City. "You can't have your top goalscorer, who scores 24 or 25 goals a season, on the bench. I'm sorry," the 81-capped England international claimed on his Vibe with FIVE YouTube show.
"People keeping talking about... And I see Roy Keane talking about it and I totally agree - why are we so concerned with what people don't do all the time? What's he good at? The hardest thing to do in football is score goals and this guy does it as good, if not better, than anybody."
