Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has insisted Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale and says he is planning for the new season with the Premier League club's star player on board.
Ronaldo has not joined United on their pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia, due to family issues, but the Portugal international star's representatives have let it be known he wants to leave after just one season back.
Ten Hag was quizzed on Ronaldo in Bangkok, ahead of United's pre-season opener against Liverpool on Tuesday, and revealed he spoke to the 37-year-old before uncertainty emerged over the player's future plans.
He said: “He is not with is and that is due to personal issues. But we are planning with Cristiano for this season, so that's it and I am looking forward to working with him. I spoke with him before this issue came up. I had a really good conversation with him, but that will stay between me and him. But Cristiano is not for sale.”
Ten Hag's first game as United boss is against their old foes Liverpool, with the 52-year-old relishing the chance to test himself against Jurgen Klopp's side. “Playing Liverpool is always exciting, its a big game, we are looking forward to it and it's a really good test for us,” said ten Hag. “The standard of Manchester United is to win every game so we will start with that in our minds, we will be that determined and we are happy to play this game in Bangkok for so many fans. We just started, some players are only back for one week, so we have to construct a team, a way of playing.”
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United midfielder Scott McTominay claims the club's players have already bought into Ten Hag's philosophy. Dutchman Ten Hag has been working closely with United’s players for the past two weeks, putting them through intense training sessions and telling them the style he wants to play in a bid to revive the Premier League side's fortunes after their struggles on the pitch in recent seasons. The former Ajax boss is hands-on in training, often stopping sessions to explain a particular detail or pattern of play, with McTominay revealing United’s players have been receptive to his methods and management style.
McTominay said: “He's got an idea of the way he wants to play, and he executes it really, really well in terms of getting across to the players. It’s the same with [assistant coach] Mitchell [van der Gaag]. The philosophy and the ideas of the style of play for us [are] clear to see. It's up to us as players now to really take the message on board and push with everything we’ve got, all year. As the manager reiterated, we’re here to work hard. We’re not here to go and sightsee and see all of Thailand. It's time to work and it's really time to focus for sure.”
