Cristiano Ronaldo is threatening to become a huge problem for Manchester United with the forward attempting to argue with Erik ten Hag’s tactics, according to reports.
The Portuguese star has made it clear that he wants to leave Old Trafford this summer so he can continue playing in Champions League, though he has received less interest than he was expecting while United do not want to sell him.
Ronaldo was given permission to miss the pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia for ‘family reasons’ and was fit enough for a place on the bench in their season opener against Brighton.
He returned to the starting lineup in Saturday’s 4-0 defeat to Brentford but cut a frustrated figure throughout, while he refused assistant coach Steve McClaren’s request to acknowledge United’s away supporters after the match.
There have been reports that Ronaldo’s sulking is starting to affect the team, with many players feeling it would be better if he just left the club.
Now The Athletic claim the 37-year-old’s mood and behaviour is becoming so openly rebellious that he has tried to argue against Ten Hag’s tactics in training.
The United manager’s style of play hinges on having a dynamic and hard-working attack but pressing from the front and closing down is not something Ronaldo is known for or enjoys – even when he was in his prime.
He was criticised for his lack of work rate at times last season despite leading the club’s scoring charts and looked a poor fit for Rangnick’s system – who also tried to engage the opposition high up the pitch.
But Ronaldo has been seen ‘flapping his arms about’ in training and poo-pooing the high-pressing Ten Hag is trying to teach his players.
The former Real Madrid player is becoming so isolated and distant from the rest of the team that there have been times when he eats lunch alone at Carrington even though Ten Hag has tried to get the players to eat together.
Despite his unhappiness with being forced to remain at United, Ronaldo did report to training on Sunday after Ten Hag cancelled his team’s scheduled day off and took part in all the running drills forced onto the team.
Ten Hag has previously rejected suggestions that Ronaldo is unhappy or causing any issues in training, saying last week: ‘That is your assumption [that Ronaldo wishes to depart].
‘That is not what he is telling me. So I deal with the players we have and we plan with him for this season and we have to fit him into the team so he has to come at the right fitness levels so that he can do the job that we expect him to do.’
