Cristiano Ronaldo discouraged Manchester United from making a move Antonio Conte this campaign and the club have chose not to consult him over the appointment of Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils have been searching for a new permanent manager since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked and replaced by Ralf Rangnick in November.
Prior to the Norwegian’s sack, United had been linked with a move for Conte but they chose to stick with Solskjaer – albeit briefly – with the Italian coach joining Tottenham instead.
That decision seems to have backfired, with United now in a fight just to claim a European place while Tottenham have started to take control of the battle for fourth place and sit six points clear of Rangnick’s side.
There has been better news for United in recent days, however, with Ajax manager Ten Hag having verbally agreed a three-year contract – with the option for a fourth year – to take over at the club.
Interestingly, the Manchester Evening News claim that this time around United’s board did not seek the advice of Ronaldo after he warned them off Conte back in October.
United’s hierarchy had not been totally convinced about replacing Solskjaer with the former Inter boss and that was only compounded when Ronaldo’s own reservations were fed back to the board.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner vetoed any move for Conte from happening, but just a few weeks later his agent, Jorge Mendes, was pressing for United to dismiss Solskjaer after they were hammered 4-1 by Watford.
In a move which suggests United’s board regret listening to Ronaldo’s opinion on Conte, they have not consulted him or any first-team players on the new manager.
Football director John Murtough and technical director Darren Fletcher led the search for a new head coach, overseeing background checks on a number of targets including Pochettino and Luis Enrique.
Ten Hag soon emerged as United’s clear preference, impressing in an interview with CEO Richard Arnold, and United are hoping to announce his appointment after the Dutch Cup final so as not to disrupt Ajax’s campaign.
