Erik ten Hag, in the opinion of Graeme Souness, ought to have been kinder to Cristiano Ronaldo. The renowned pundit claims that in five years, “no one” will be discussing Ten Hag’s performance at Manchester United but rather Ronaldo’s.
According to Souness, who spoke to talkSPORT, “Ten Hag will be gone from the club in five years and no one will ever talk about him and his time at Manchester United again. However, Ronaldo will always be known as possibly the greatest ball player in history. Does that grant him a permit? Yes, in my opinion. One of the best footballers in the world, this is Ronaldo. You need to keep him content and give him some space. An upset Ronaldo in your dressing room indicates a serious issue.”
Souness makes reference to Ten Hag’s well-known statement made during the derby defeat to Manchester City (6-3): at the time, the trainer said that he had refused to let Ronaldo enter the field out of respect for his career. “And now that he is ahead 2-0, does he want him to play four minutes early to buy time? Manchester United may have put themselves in danger by bringing their own glasses,” Souness remarks.
Graeme Souness: “Ten Hag has promised that Ronaldo will have a lot of playing time”
According to Souness, Ten Hag made certain statements at the beginning of the year in an effort to keep Ronaldo at Manchester United. Even though nothing about this is known to the general public, he suggests that Ten Hag has promised that Ronaldo will have a lot of playing time. Keeping a player that “Ten Hag knew wouldn’t play much, while Ten Hag told him something. That made him stay,” in the former Scotland international’s opinion, is not good.
“You cannot disregard that,” Souness asserts. “While I disagree with what Ronaldo did, I’m only trying to explain why. I believe that is related to the discussion he had with Ten Hag before the start of the season.”
At his news conference on Wednesday. The manager did not want to take too many questions about the hotly debated issue. “We’ve covered everything; he missed one game and is back with the team,” Ten Hag mentioned.
