Erik ten Hag can start Manchester United rebuild with Cristiano Ronaldo decision
Man Utd have had a disastrous start to the season and the case for keeping Cristiano Ronaldo at the club is diminishing.
The disconnect between Cristiano Ronaldo and his Manchester United teammates couldn't have been starker. While most of his colleagues tentatively approached the away end at Brentford, the forward took a step or two in that direction before ignoring orders to go over, turning on his heels and heading for the tunnel.
Ronaldo's hand gestures made it clear he wanted no part of the invective that was spewing back from the United end towards a squad that continues to plumb new depths. It was a familiar scene at the end of last season.
At the Amex Stadium in May, Ronaldo was spared the indignation of a furious away end after another 4-0 defeat to a mid-table team. That day he left the stadium on his own.
On the pitch, Ronaldo isn't United's biggest problem at the moment, but the arguments against a separation this summer are becoming increasingly thin on the ground.
The 37-year-old has made it abundantly clear he wants out and tensions are evidently simmering, between Ronaldo and some of his teammates and maybe even the manager, given the forward's tetchy touchline chat with Erik ten Hag in the friendly against Rayo Vallecano.
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Ronaldo is the best source of goals in this team, but he doesn't represent the future and that is all that is left for Ten Hag to focus on. This season already feels like a lost cause.
United are bottom of the Premier League after two games and the top four feels almost impossible already. The five sides that finished above United last season are all stronger now, while this squad is weaker.
Ten Hag's decision to haul the players in on their day off on Sunday and flog them hard in a running session is a clear sign of how he intends to right the sinking ship. He's attempted to improve discipline in pre-season and isn't going to stop now.
There were signs of promise in terms of a playing style during that tour to Thailand and Australia in pre-season and it's no coincidence that took shape without Ronaldo. There's an argument this team, under Ten Hag's style, would look better with a fluid forward such as Anthony Martial leading the line.
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United continue to insist their stance on Ronaldo remains unchanged. That he is not for sale and remains under contract for a further year. There has been little Champions League interest in him so far, either.
But given the disastrous start to this season, it should now be Ten Hag's call if he wishes to jettison Ronaldo and allow him to leave. It's clear success this term is going to be hard to come by, so the focus should be on long-term planning. That doesn't include a forward who turns 38 in February.
The ruins that have been United's first two games of the season show the value in starting afresh. There are bigger issues within the squad but Ten Hag is going to learn nothing about his team this season with Ronaldo at the apex of his system.
For all his quality, he was powerless to prevent the humiliation at Brentford on Saturday. The debate around Ronaldo has become polarised as well. Critics say he unbalanced United last season, while his supporters say United would have sunk without trace but for his 24 goals.
In reality, both of those can be true. Even with the goals, it's hard to make a case for this move being a success. Ten Hag wants to build a young, hungry team capable of pressing aggressively and it's clear that Ronaldo will find it hard to fit into that.
His contribution is likely to make little difference to the way this season is already playing out, so if Ten Hag wants to start planning for the future in the present, he should consider letting Ronaldo leave.
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