Manchester United Manager Erik ten Hag has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo is part of the club’s plan for next season and potentially for the next couple of years.
The 37-year-old has told the Red Devils that he wants to leave this summer, as he is determined to continue playing Champions League football at this stage of his career.
Ronaldo did not travel with the Man United squad on their pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to a personal issue, which has remained private.
While clubs thought to be in the running for his signature – Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain – have all allegedly decided against signing him in the current market, the Dutch tactician has expressed desire to keep the Portuguese at Old Trafford.
“I am well-informed he also has an option (to extend his contract), eh? Yes (he could stay beyond this season), but to be honest, of course I have signed here for three years, but in football it’s short-term as well. We have to win from the start. So I don’t look that far ahead,” the Manchester Evening News quotes Ten Hag as saying.
“I have a strategy, it’s a process, it takes time, but in the end we have to make sure from the outset there is a winning team.”
Ten Hag, though, has admitted that he is unsure when Ronaldo will report back to the club’s Carrington training complex, claiming that there is “no change” to the situation.
“The same status as last week in Bangkok: no change. I cannot tell you (when he will be back at Carrington). No change in the issue. He is training. I think we all know Ronaldo is a top professional and he will be fit. That is the last concern I have,” he added.
“In his career, he has shown everything. I have set my demand. We want to play in a certain way. A top player can contribute and Ronaldo is an absolute top player in our squad. The players dictate the way you play. Especially players who score goals because they are extremely important for a team. You construct your team around them.”
Ronaldo, who has denied that he is in talks over a return to Sporting Lisbon, scored 24 goals and registered three assists in 37 appearances at club level last season.
