Changed His Mind, Erik Ten Hag Lets Ronaldo Leave Manchester United

Erik ten Hag (Instagram @manchesterunited)

JAKARTA — Erik Ten Hag is said to have changed his mind about Cristiano Ronaldo. Now the Dutch coach is open to letting the Portugal forward leave Manchester United.

The 37-year-old's future at Old Trafford has been in hot news since reportedly declaring his intention to leave the club this summer after failing to feature in the 2022/2023 European Champions League.

However, Erik Ten Hag remains adamant that he will not let the Portuguese star go. The reason is, the player with the initials CR7 will be part of his plans for this season.

However, The Athletic's latest report says that the 52-year-old has now changed his mind and wants to let Ronaldo go.

The former Ajax Amsterdam coach is willing to pave the way for Ronaldo citing the difficulty of reintegrating into the squad after he missed pre-season in Thailand and Australia due to family reasons.

The report also claims that since rejoining the team Ronaldo has sometimes been alone at lunch in the cafeteria at their training ground in Carrington.

He also once showed a gesture of disdain to oppose the high-pressing approach that Ten Hag was trying to implement.

Recently, he was seen arguing with Ten Hag's assistant coach, Steve McClaren, in the match against Brentford. After the match, McClaren asked Ronaldo to applaud Manchester United fans, but the request was ignored.

This incident is said to have had a negative impact on the Red Devils dressing room. However, MU is said to insist on wanting CR7 to stay at the club according to his contract.

United reportedly will only consider selling Ronaldo if they have signed a new striker. New strikers are still difficult for them to get amid Anthony Martial's injury.

Currently, MU is reportedly targeting a number of names, one of which is Alvaro Morata. The Red Devils have reportedly started discussions with Atletico Madrid to get the services of the 29-year-old player.

Ronaldo has so far not scored in United's two painful defeats in the first two weeks of the Premier League. They recorded a 1-2 defeat against Brighton and a 0-4 defeat against Brentford.