Erik Ten Hag Still Keeps Hope Against Cristiano Ronaldo At Manchester United

Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag. (Photo: Twitter.com/@ManUtd)

JAKARTA - Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Manchester United is a question mark. He is often reported to be released in January.

The rumor grew even louder after Ronaldo was punished for his actions to leave the bench while his colleagues were still playing on the pitch.

At that time, it was reported that Ronaldo was angry because he was not played when MU won 2-0 over Tottenham Hotspur. He entered the dressing room even though the game was not completely over.

He also received punishment from his manager, Erik ten Hag. The names of the former Real Madrid and Juventus players were not included in the MU squad list for the match against Chelsea.

However, Ten Hag denied wanting Ronaldo to leave. The man from the Netherlands hopes that the senior player will stay with the Red Devils.

"Cristiano is still an important part of the squad and I put my hopes in him for the rest of the season. We want to fulfill our ambitions," Ten Hag said, as quoted by Sky Sports, Saturday.

Ten Hag had previously confirmed reports that the Portuguese refused to play in stoppage time when Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspur in the middle of last week.

The former Ajax Amsterdan coach explained that there was talk between himself and Ronaldo and the club statement that it was enough to explain what the situation was.

Ten Hag explained that his decision not to bring Ronaldo to the game against Chelsea today was a consequence that the 37-year-old player had to accept.

"I am a manager, I am responsible for the culture here and I have to define standards and values, and I have to control them. We are a team," explained Ten Hag.

"After Rayo Vallecano's incident, I said it was unacceptable but he wasn't the only (of service). That's for everyone, when there was a second time there would be consequences."

"That's what we're doing now. We're going to miss it, it's a loss for the squad but I think it's important for attitude, mentality for the team."