Man Utd's plan for Cristiano Ronaldo revealed
FT Desk
- 1 Sept 2022 23:13 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo was on the bench for the third consecutive game as Manchester United beat Leicester 1-0 on Thursday. Does he have a future at the club?
Ronaldo had been trying to plot his escape from Man Utd all summer: the scorer of 140 Champions League goals wanting to extend his record in a competition that the Red Devils had failed to qualify for.
But potential suitors have been thin on the ground to the point that Rangers - runners-up to Celtic in Scotland last season - were even linked. More realistic options like Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and Napoli had all distanced themselves from deals in recent days.
Ronaldo has been benched for the third consecutive game 👀https://t.co/yD9AexvTys
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) September 1, 2022
Ronaldo had reportedly changed his mind on leaving after United recruited Casemiro and Antony over the last week - at a combined cost of €180 million - but his newfound loyalty hasn't been returned in kind, with the 37-year-old benched for United's last three games.
A United future after all?
Ronaldo at least came off the bench for the final 22 minutes on Thursday, replacing goalscorer Jadon Sancho and coming close to joining the young Englishman on the scoresheet with an overhead-kick soon after, and Erik ten Hag seemed to promise him more minutes as the season wears on.
"It is really early in the season; we have a squad, more than a starting XI," he told reporters having named a front three of Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Antony Elanga.
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When asked if Ronaldo would be relegated to a bit-part role full-time, the Dutch tactician answered in the negative.
"No, with all the gamest to come, he will have a big part in the team," he asserted. "As will all the players."
Ronaldo has scored 142 goals in 335 games across two spells with United. All nine of his major honours with United came in his first spell prior to his €94m move to Real Madrid in 2009.
