Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim has begged Erik ten Hag to keep Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench in the event of his side being drawn against Manchester United in the Europa League play-off round.
United, who will be going in search of a fourth successive victory in all competitions when they face Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon, will participate in a two-legged play-off fixture in February to try and reach the last-16 of the competition. They missed out on winning their respective group on Thursday evening, despite beating Real Sociedad 1-0 in their final group game in San Sebastian.
United arrived in Spain knowing that they had to win by a two-goal margin to win the group and automatically qualify for the last-16. However, they were unable to find that illusive second goal, meaning they must now get the better a third-placed Champions League side to keep their Europa League dream alive.
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The draw will be conducted on Monday and United could face any one of the eight clubs that have dropped into the Europa League, including European giants Barcelona and Juventus. They also face the possibility of being drawn against Ten Hag's former club, Ajax.
Ronaldo's former club, Sporting, will also be in the hat, meaning the 37-year-old could face a reunion with the club he started his career at. And if that does prove to be the case, Amorim has admitted that he hopes Ten Hag leaves the five-time Ballon d'Or winner out of his plans.
Speaking to Radio Renascenca, Amorim said: "We don't want Manchester United, but if we have to come, Ronaldo stays on the bench, so he doesn't score goals."
Ronaldo, who has started each of United's last three matches since being axed from the squad for the draw with Chelsea a fortnight ago, has scored three times so far this season, two of which have come in the Europa League. He scored in both meetings with Sheriff Tiraspol.
He is widely expected to leave United at the end of this season when his contract expires, and he has been linked with a fairytale return to Sporting. However, Amorim, last month, played down the likelihood of that happening.
"Ronaldo is a top player, a Manchester United player," he said. "Everyone in Sporting dreams of the return of Cristiano, so I don't want to speak about that.
He's a Manchester United player, a top player, and he will be for a few months. I'll answer the same way because a lot of journalists ask me the same question.
"He [Ronaldo] is a Manchester United player. Everybody in Sporting dreams of the return for Cristiano but we don't have the money to pay his wages. I think he's happy in Manchester but he's not playing so that's the problem."
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