Ten Hag wants to keep hold of Ronaldo as part of Old Trafford rebuild
Erik ten Hag wants Cristiano Ronaldo to stay at Manchester United. The club’s new manager believes it would be foolish not to retain the forward, who has one year left on his contract and whose goals have carried United in an otherwise hugely disappointing campaign.
Ronaldo will be one of the first players Ten Hag talks to when he arrives at Old Trafford. The Dutchman is considering how to get the best out of United with Ronaldo in the team, given he is 37 and no longer as physically capable.
It may be that the Portuguese is told he should not expect to start every game while the team is rebuilt and this will be presented as an attempt to get the best out of him. Ronaldo has scored 24 goals in 37 games in all competitions this season and Ten Hag’s reasoning is that such a return is difficult to replace.
Ten Hag – who is planning three major signings this summer, with centre-forward and central defence a priority – has been impressed by the way Ronaldo has attempted to carry the team during this season’s adversity.
He will also ascertain whether Marcus Rashford wants to stay. It is understood the forward’s preference is to continue, although there have been strong indications from his camp that the 24-year-old is considering his future. There are also senior figures at United who argue that it may be in the best interests of the England international and the club if he makes a fresh start.
Rashford’s contract runs until next year but there is an option to extend it by another year. Usually, United would be holding talks over a new contract this summer but that will remain on hold until he has spoken to Ten Hag and it is decided whether he will continue at the club where he came through the academy.
Meanwhile, Ralf Rangnick has disclosed he wanted to sign a striker in the wake of Mason Greenwood’s suspension but was blocked from doing so by the board, on the say-so of the club’s scouting department.
Rangnick, the interim manager, made the revelation in describing events in the final two days of January when Greenwood was suspended, leaving United with little time to follow the manager’s recommendation to sign a replacement.
Yesterday, Rangnick pointed to Luis Diaz, Julian Alvarez and Dusan Vlahovic as three high-profile strikers who moved in the transfer window but, while the board initially agreed with him, it eventually blocked any signing after discussions with the scouting department.
“We had four days off at the time. I think it was a Sunday, I was informed about the issue around Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial had already left, and then I was aware that within four days we had some strikers missing and that it might make sense [to buy)]” he said.
“In that international break we lost, including Edinson Cavani, three strikers longterm. Maybe I still believe that we should have tried in those 48 hours, the board, meanwhile, sees it the same way, they agreed, but they also spoke to the scouting department at the same time as me.”
Rangnick then brought up the names of players who did move in January, and said: “I spoke to the board and told them ‘shouldn’t we at least speak and analyse and find if we can get a player, on loan or a permanent deal?’. In the end the answer was no. I still believe we should have at least tried.”