Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has insisted Cristiano Ronaldo remains a key part of his Red Devils plans this season despite the forward's well-documented desire to leave the club.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner feels like his new manager has failed to match his own ambition when it comes to the club's transfer dealings so far this summer and as a result wants out of Old Trafford. It has been a miserable start for the Red Devils so far this term, with two defeats from two.
The first came at home to Brighton, a fixture in which Ronaldo was dropped before introduced off the bench five minutes into the second-half. His presence was not enough to turn the tide of the game and United fell to a 2-1 home loss to the Seagulls.
Things got even worse a week later with a humiliating 4-0 defeat by Brentford. The spotlight was firmly on Ronaldo come full-time as cameras watched him refuse to acknowledge his manager as he made his way off the pitch.
In response, Ten Hag has opted to drop the 37-year-old from the starting line-up for the visit of long-time rivals Liverpool on Monday night. Ronaldo is unlikely to have taken that decision well but is a damning indictment of how far the iconic number seven has fallen in recent times.
Some may argue that the decision comes as a bit of a shock considering before the game, the United manager discussed Ronaldo's immediate club future and quashed any talk of the player edging for an imminent exit.
Instead, he claimed he hopes to fit the forward into his system, though his team selection would suggest the opposite.
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"That’s not what he’s telling us," the Dutchman explained when addressing reports of Ronaldo's unrest.
"We plan with him and that has reasons, he scores goals. We are happy with him, we have to fit him in the system and the way we’re playing. That is what he’s trying and we’re trying."
Ten Hag went on to address reports that Ronaldo is preparing for a tell-all interview which will touch on the relentless reports over one of the transfer sagas of the summer as recent speculation suggests the Premier League legend is actually struggling to find any willing suitors for his signature.
Pressed for comment on the potential interview, the United boss said: " I don’t know what he wants to achieve with that so if you want to know that you have to ask him."
