Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to leave Manchester United ‘unconditionally’ this summer and the problems he’s faced under Erik ten Hag were obvious to see.
That’s according to Borussia Dortmund chief Hans Joachim Watzke, who has commented on the situation alongside Bayern’s Oliver Kahn.
For those that don’t know or were perhaps living under a rock for the last few months, Ronaldo wanted to leave Manchester United in the summer transfer window.
Throughout the window it was explained that he wanted to be playing Champions League football at this point in his career and thus needed to leave Old Trafford to secure it.
His agent, Jorge Mendes, spent the summer touting him around Europe trying to find a bidder, a task he failed in.
At one point a move to Germany was mooted, with Bayern Munich needing to replace Robert Lewandowski and Borussia Dortmund losing Erling Haaland.
Neither move happened for various reasons, in fact Ronaldo could not secure a move anywhere and he ended up staying at Manchester United, where he has been a bench player this season.
It’s a situation he’s not happy about it but, as far as Watzke is concerned, it was inevitable for the striker.
“There has never been any contact between Ronaldo and us,” he told SportBILD.
“I immediately had the feeling that it could be difficult between United’s new coach Erik ten Hag, whom I also know a little, and Ronaldo.
“Ronaldo wanted to leave unconditionally, there is simply something lost in the interpersonal area.
“But when you see that United concede six goals at City and still manage to do without Ronaldo, the coach has to know what he’s doing…
“We briefly discussed Ronaldo at Bayern and Dortmund probably did too,” added Kahn.
“We also see the big picture of the Bundesliga. Of course, superstars like Ronaldo are an important factor in attracting attention to the league. He is one of the greatest of the last decade. But we quickly dismissed that.”
