Erik Ten Hag Insists Cristiano Ronaldo Is Happy At Manchester United

The Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has insisted Cristiano Ronaldo remains happy at Old Trafford despite being an unused substitute in their 6-3 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad stadium last weekend.

Ten Hag started Ronaldo on the bench, but despite losing 4-0 at half-time refused to bring him on, and preferred to use his five substitutions on other players.

It is now seven and a half weeks since Ronaldo last started a Premier League game for United in their 4-0 defeat to Brentford on August 13.

But despite his continued absence from the starting line-up Ten Hag has declared Ronaldo remains in a good mood around the club.

“I don’t see he is unhappy,” Ten Hag said in a press conference on Wednesday. “He’s happy, he is training well. He’s enjoying it and I think everyone is training well. It is a good spirit and vibe in the training so that’s not the point but it’s important because it is a base to work well.”

When Ten Hag’s answer was treated with some degree of scepticism he was forced to expand on his thoughts. “He is not happy that he wasn’t playing on Sunday, don’t get me wrong. But that wasn’t the question. The question was what he is like on the training pitch and what his mood is around the team. He is happy. But of course, he wants to play and he is p****d off when he is not playing, clearly.”

The Dutchman was asked if Ronaldo was now more likely to be sold in the January transfer window. “I can’t see that relation, that he’s not coming on when we are 4-0 down, 5-1 down, 6-1 down and I don’t bring him on out of respect,” he replied. “It’s nothing to do [with] what’s happening for the future, what’s happening for January or next year.”

On Sunday Ten Hag had stated he hadn’t used Ronaldo out of “respect for his big career” and was asked if that meant he was giving him special treatment. “I think, for me, it is quite obvious. For you, maybe not, but I think also you understand why this is.”

“I think you know why that is. When you are honest, you know there is a difference, but, for me, there is no difference. For me, it is, and let me make myself clear: It’s always about [how] you live by the day and you line up the strongest team you have, don’t get me wrong. But there are differences.”

“No-one is the same in a team and also the treatment I give everyone is nothing but respect. But they all have different backgrounds. And also their character, they are different, so also I have to treat players different to get the best out of them. But there are certain general standards and values that count for everyone.”

Ten Hag was asked about Ronaldo’s role in his squad for the rest of the season. “I never talk about what I talk to the players about. My conversations with players are between us. That’s quite clear. When you are here and when you are happy, and when you are satisfied being on the bench, this is not the club where you have to be.”

“So, especially Cristiano is a really competitive, as we all know, he is not happy, of course, when he is not playing. But, I already said, and I have to repeat, maybe you didn’t hear, he is training well, he has a good mood, he is motivated and he gives his best, and that is what we expect.”

The United manager was speaking ahead of United’s Europa League group game against Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus on Thursday, which offers his players a chance to rebound from their heavy defeat to Manchester City.

“I know when you are in a process, it will not go only your way. You will have setbacks, and we beat the number one in the league [Arsenal], and we beat Liverpool.”

“On Sunday, we had a bad day at the office and we got beat. And in this moment, on that day, City were better. We have to accept that. But what we can’t accept is our performance. That was unacceptable.”