Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has explained why he selected Cristiano Ronaldo from the start in Saturday’s Premier League clash against Brentford.
Ronaldo is determined to depart the Red Devils this summer after just one season back at Old Trafford following his high-profile return from Juventus last summer after 12 years away. He has been attempting to force through an exit for two months.
The Portuguese superstar did not report to the club's pre-season tour of Asia due to 'family reasons' and only made his first appearance under new boss Erik ten Hag as the Red Devils were held to a 1-1 draw by Rayo Vallecano in a friendly at Old Trafford a week before the season started.
Ronaldo was subsequently deemed not to be fit enough to start in Sunday’s Premier League opening day defeat against Brighton, although he did enter proceedings in the second half as a substitute – where he was unable to find the net.
The 37-year-old is selected from the start as United look to bounce back from that opening day defeat with a tricky second day assignment away at Brentford. Ronaldo heads an exciting United attack which also includes Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes.
Speaking to MUTV ahead of the game, boss Ten Hag explained of Ronaldo’s selection: “It’s short [his pre-season] but Ronaldo is Ronaldo, he can do that, he proved it so often in the past, he’s a really fit guy and he has to show it today."
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During his first appearance under Ten Hag against Rayo, Ronaldo was engaged in an animated conversation with the coach on the sidelines. Having subsequently been taken off at the break, Ronaldo was then pictured leaving Old Trafford before the end of the game which drew the wrath of the United boss – who described the behaviour as “unacceptable”. Ten Hag bluntly said: "Definitely not (acceptable). I certainly don't condone this. This is unacceptable. For everyone. We are a team and you have to stay until the end."
After the Premier League opening day loss to Brighton, when Ronaldo was not fit to start and Antony Martial was injured, Ten Hag was tight-lipped when asked to shed light on United's plans to bolster their forward line in the final three weeks of summer transfer window. "I don't go into names because I think, in this pre-season, 250 players are involved or linked to Man United," the former Ajax manager told reporters post-match. "We have two strikers, maybe a third one with [Marcus] Rashford as well, you could see him as a striker.
"He had a really good pre-season on the left side and also today had two really good chances, coming in from the left side, so I think it was the right decision to do it like this. But we didn't have the typical nine. He was not available today."
