Erik Ten Hag Plans To Reserve Cristiano Ronaldo In Manchester United's First Match, Sir Alex Ferguson's Old Quote Becomes A Highlight

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. (Instagram/@cristiano)

JAKARTA - Manchester United manager, Erik Ten Hag, is considered to be making a mistake if he reserves Cristiano Ronaldo in the opening match of the 2022/2023 Premier League.

The Red Devils will host Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday, August 7 next. Ronaldo is reportedly going to play off the bench after insisting on leaving and missing the team's pre-season.

This plan is very contrary to the philosophy of Sir Alex Ferguson while still dealing with MU. The reason, Ronaldo is a mandatory player in the starting eleven in the era of the Scottish man.

In an autobiography in 2013, Ferguson said there are five names he must include in the starting eleven as long as they are fit to play.

"So it always feels like an impossible task to pick the best 11. However, you have to say Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Bryan Robson and Cristiano Ronaldo will never be left out of the Man United team," wrote Ferguson.

Currently the careers of Cantona, Giggs, Scholes, and Robson are now over. However, Ronaldo is still active at Manchester United and is on his way to his final year at the club.

According to some reports Ronaldo remains in the plans of the ten Hag. However, the turmoil that has arisen lately has made the Dutch manager start to change his mind.

The former Ajax coach was previously angry with Ronaldo's attitude in leaving the MU versus Rayo Vallecano match. For that, he reportedly prefers Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford to lead the front row of the Red Devils against Brighton.

Cristiano Ronaldo spent a summer at Manchester United full of speculation. However, it seems Sir Alex Ferguson remains a big supporter of the striker he recruited from Sporting Lisbon.