Cristiano Ronaldo’s situation has been a dark cloud over Manchester United’s preseason preparations.
The forward has clearly been agitating for a transfer but Jorge Mendes doesn’t appear to have yet found a club ready to seriously push for his signing.
Having just returned to group training, Ronaldo appeared in a weekend friendly for the Red Devils against Rayo Vallecano but left the match in the second half, something which obviously created controversy.
Diogo Dalot was also seen leaving, but because Ronaldo is such a big star, and given his current situation, it’s obviously the latter getting the attention.
In the Netherlands there’s been a lot of talk over how Ten Hag would react to that situation, given he was known at Ajax for taking a very hard line with such things, either banning players or imposing a fine.
Having strict rules for his squad is thought to be part of the manager’s approach to the game.
Ten Hag has now spoken to Viaplay, with Dutch newspaper AD picking up the comments, and made it clear he’s unhappy with the situation.
AD quote him as saying: “I certainly don’t condone this. This is unacceptable. For everyone. We are a team and you have to stay until the end.”
Whether the Manchester United manager will now take action against Ronaldo is unclear.