Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 2:37 PM• Noel Korteweg • Last update: 14:40

Tensions between Cristiano Ronaldo and Erik ten Hag seem to have increased. The British newspaper The Times reports that the 37-year-old attacker of Manchester United has reservations about the method of the former Ajax coach. According to the Portuguese star player, the Dutchman would unnecessarily stick to the way of playing and philosophy that worked with the team from Amsterdam.

At United, however, things are more difficult. This is how it started the Red Devils the Premier League season with defeats against Brighton & Hove Albion (1-2) and Brentford FC (4-0) respectively. Ten Hag’s side then recovered with successive wins over Liverpool (2-1), Southampton (0-1), Leicester City (0-1) and Arsenal (3-1) before going all wrong last week against Manchester City ( 6-3). Ronaldo, who is anything but undisputed under Ten Hag, has to make do with substitutes in the Premier League. His only starting spot in the league was against Brentford.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner would rather leave Old Trafford today than tomorrow, where he experienced success after success between 2003 and 2009. According to the Portuguese, Ten Hag would be ‘stubborn’ and unnecessarily stick to the way he played at Ajax. In addition, sources at Carrington, United’s training complex, call the relationship between the player and trainer “tense”. For example, Ronaldo would complain about the quality of the training sessions and he thinks the team can play better in a different way.

The attacker, who last season was good for 24 goals in 39 games for the English superpower, would also be “furious” after Ten Hag indicated after the lost city derby against City that he did not want to bring in Ronaldo “out of respect for his great career.” ‘. The manager reacted to the situation prior to the Europa League match with Omonia Nicosia (2-3 win). “Of course he wants to play and is pissed off when he sits on the bench. Ronaldo is very competitive and is not happy when he is not playing. He trains well and is motivated, which is what we expect from him,” said Ten Hag.