Erik ten Hag says that he still counts on Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United's manager held a press conference ahead of his next Premier League fixture against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium tomorrow night. Besides talking about the game, Erik ten Hag was questioned by the media about Cristiano Ronaldo’s future as the transfer window will be closing on Thursday.

When asked if he still counted on Cristiano Ronaldo following the signing of Antony from Ajax, he said that he was still part of his plans because there will be a lot of fixtures this season: “Clear, of course. What I just said, we need quality players and you need more to cover all the games to keep also the consistency going. That is what we strive for”, he said to the press.

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The Dutch manager apparently just confirmed that the Portuguese striker will be staying at Old Trafford one more season despite him looking for a new club that will play Champions League football all summer. After failing in his task, it looks like Ronaldo will play in the UEFA Europa League for the first time in his legendary career.

It was reported earlier today by The Athletic that Cristiano Ronaldo was starting to accept the fact that he had no other place to go this season and started to have a more positive attitude during the squad’s training sessions this past week. This change in his mentality was also noticed by Erik ten Hag and his coaching staff at Carrington. 

A new beginning?

The Dutch manager hadn’t been happy with the Portuguese superstar ever since he arrived at Manchester United this summer and Ronaldo was absent for the entirety of the pre-season tour while trying to find a new club alongside his agent Jorge Mendes. That is why Ronaldo hasn’t featured a lot in Erik ten Hag’s line-ups, but now he might give him another chance.