Erik ten Hag reacted with frustration and refused to answer questions about Cristiano Ronaldo in his press conference ahead of Manchester United ’s game against FC Sheriff.
Ten Hag faced the press on Wednesday morning to preview Thursday’s evening Europa League match at Old Trafford. The match will see Ronaldo rejoin the United squad after he was dropped from the squad to face Chelsea on Saturday and fined after refusing to come off the bench against Tottenham. Ronaldo and Ten Hag held showdown talks on Monday before the 37-year-old forward returned to training.
The situation around Ronaldo has dominated discussions around the club over the past week, with speculation over his future returning after a summer in which he agitated for a transfer. But with United second in Group E of the Europa League and needing a victory over Sheriff to put pressure on leaders Real Sociedad, Ten Hag was in no mood to talk about Ronaldo.
“It’s not difficult, but I think we said everything,” he said when asked whether the past few days had been difficult for him. “We answered all the questions. He was out for one game and now he’s back in the squad as usual.” Another reporter began asking another question about Ronaldo, but Ten Hag cut him off mid-sentence.
“So, you don’t have to, because I won’t answer any more,” he said. “Everything we covered last week, everything we explained. We have to focus on the game tomorrow – it’s an important game, because we want to be number one in the group. So let’s focus on that.”
He added: “In this moment, as I said last week, we focus on the games. In the background, of course, we always continually process. We are working on the squad. We want to live top spot culture. We always examine how you can improve, so that is what we will do.”
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Before the trip to Stamford Bridge, Ten Hag went into more detail about the situation. "What the talk, if you ask about that, is between Cristiano and me," Ten Hag said. "The statement is also clear, I think. He remains an important player in the squad.
"I am the manager, I am responsible for the culture here and I have to set standards and values and I have to control them. In the team, we have values and standards and I have to control that.
"After Vallecano, I told him it was unacceptable but not [just] him, everyone. This is the second time, there are consequences. We [will] miss him tomorrow. It's a miss for the squad but it's important for the attitude and mentality of the group and now we have to focus on Chelsea as that is important."
United came away from Stamford Bridge with a point after Casemiro scored a 94th-minute header in a 1-1 draw. Ronaldo will come back into the matchday squad for the visit of managerless Sheriff, who have one win from their four matches so far.
