Did Cristiano Ronaldo bid Man Utd fans farewell?
FT Desk
- 27 Aug 2022 17:40 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo made a point of applauding the travelling Manchester United fans at full-time following his side's 1-0 win over Southampton on Saturday.
Ronaldo only featured for the final 22 minutes at St. Mary's after replacing Jadon Sancho, with a move to either Napoli or Atletico Madrid approaching fast.
The Portuguese superstar was unable to add to his 142 Man Utd goals against Southampton, but he did take the time to greet the fans at full-time, who returned rapturous applause.
Ronaldo and Maguire have been dropped AGAIN! 👀https://t.co/lxxRB1eB8A
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 27, 2022
Manager Erik ten Hag dropped Ronaldo to the bench against Liverpool on Monday - a 2-1 win - and he picked the very same XI against the Saints.
Despite not putting Ronaldo in for consecutive games, the new manager said he would like to keep Ronaldo at Old Trafford, but admitted that he might be powerless to keep him.
Ten Hag: 'we want him to stay'
"We plan with him," he said when asked by reporters if Ronaldo had played his final game. "So we want him to stay. So that is what we want.
Ronaldo still has a year to run on his contract, but he is desperate to add to his record 140 Champions League goals in the autumn of his career. When asked if the player's future was in the club's hands, he simply said: "I hope so."
Marcus Rashford has occupied Ronaldo's usual spot at the point of the attack in United's last two games, scoring against Liverpool and impressing without bulging the net against Southampton.
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With Victor Osimhen's agent publicly dismissing the suggestion that his player Victor Osimhen could be used in any transfer to Napoli, United could struggle to replace Ronaldo, but Ten Hag doesn't think they have to.
"I think he [Rashford] was quite effective, especially the first 15 mins after half-time," Ten Hag continued. "He understood he has to be a target at times."
"He was the one who creates the situations. He was involved in the situations after half time and he played an important role in our attacks in the first 15 mins after half-time."
