Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has suggested that Cristiano Ronaldo’s lack of play is due to the Portuguese missing the club’s pre-season.
Ronaldo had missed Man Utd’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia. He was also linked with a move away from the Premier League side in the summer transfer window.
Reports said that Ronaldo had asked Man Utd to allow him to leave if they received a suitable offer. But a move never materialized as Man Utd had also insisted it was not for sale.
Ronaldo has had a difficult start to the 22/23 season. He has appeared in 10 games for the Red Devils this season but has made the starting XI just four times.
Ten Hag is confident Cristiano Ronaldo will contribute more to the Man Utd team
Speaking before Man Utd’s Europa League group stage match against Omonia, Ten Hag indicated that Ronaldo’s lack of playing time is due to missing pre-season.
Ten Hag also said that Ronaldo is improving and he is confident that the Portuguese will contribute more to the team.
“He’s getting in better shape now and I’m happy with that, so he can contribute more to the team and I’m sure he will, it’s proven once again that no one can miss pre-season,” Ten Hag said.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo has only scored two goals for Man Utd so far in the 22/23 season. He scored his first goal of the season when Man Utd faced FC Sheriff in the Europa League. Ronaldo converted a penalty in that match to record his first goal of the season.
Ronaldo’s second goal came in the previous Man Utd match. The Red Devils met Everton in the Premier League and came away with a 2-1 win. Ronaldo came on as a substitute in the 29th minute for Anthony Martial, he scored the winning goal.
The Portuguese international fired the ball into the lower corner on the edge of half-time after Casemiro had passed it. That goal would prove to be the winner as Everton failed to find an equalizer in the second half.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo has started all three Europa League games that Man Utd have played this season. He will be hoping for another start when the Old Trafford side take on Omonia.
Man Utd have two wins from their first three Europa League games and will be aiming for a further three points against Omonia. They had secured a 3-2 victory over the Cypriot team in their previous game in the competition.
