Man United stars ‘expect Cristiano Ronaldo to push for January exit’

Man United stars ‘expect Cristiano Ronaldo to push for a move away from Old Trafford AGAIN in January after falling out of favour with Erik ten Hag and struggling to adapt to the Dutchman’s tactics’

  • Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to leave Manchester United in the summer window
  • However, he failed to get his move away and is still at Old Trafford for now
  • Man United’s players still think he wants to leave the club in the near future
  • They expect him to try and get a transfer when the window reopens in January 
  • This is due to Ronaldo being regularly overlooked by Erik ten Hag this season 

Manchester United players still believe that Cristiano Ronaldo wants out at Old Trafford, and expect him to push for a move away in January, according to reports.

Ronaldo told the Premier League club that he wanted to leave back in early July after they missed out on Champions League football last season, but a number of teams went on to reject the opportunity to sign him, which saw him stay at the Red Devils beyond the end of the summer transfer window.

Despite scoring 24 goals last season, Ronaldo has started just one league match this term – United’s humiliating 4-0 defeat against Brentford – with Erik ten Hag preferring Marcus Rashford up front instead.

Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to leave Manchester United this summer but failed to get his move

Ronaldo seems to have struggled to adapt to Erik ten Hag's tactics so far this season

Ronaldo seems to have struggled to adapt to Erik ten Hag’s tactics so far this season

Ten Hag reportedly feels Rashford is capable of scoring at least 20 goals this season to help United launch a title bid, signalling that he is likely to stick with the Englishman moving forward over Ronaldo. With this in mind, United’s first team stars think the Portuguese icon will have his sights set on an exit at the start of 2023 due to struggling to adapt to ten Hag’s style of play. 

‘All the players loved it when Ronaldo came back to United last season but they are frustrated he missed pre-season,’ a source told The Sun.

‘The manager put a lot of work into giving the squad detailed information about what he wanted them to do and how he wanted them to play.  

‘Ronaldo is not up to speed with that and is relying on instinct when he plays. But that doesn’t work in Ten Hag’s system.

Ten Hag has preferred to use Marcus Rashford up front rather than Ronaldo in recent weeks

Ten Hag has preferred to use Marcus Rashford up front rather than Ronaldo in recent weeks

United's players think Ronaldo still wants to leave the club, and will try to manufacture a move in January

United’s players think Ronaldo still wants to leave the club, and will try to manufacture a move in January

‘He often demands the ball too early in build-up play and drops deep for the ball, but that means when the ball is wide there is no-one in the middle to hit it into.  

‘It’s clear that the success they have had this season is from following tactical instruction rather than the individual brilliance they relied on last season.

‘Ronaldo is likely to find himself on the bench again going forward.’

Ronaldo did get a rare opportunity to impress from the start against Real Sociedad in the Europa League last Thursday, but he looked off the pace as United slipped to a shock 1-0 defeat against their Spanish opponents.

He could get another chance to stake his claim for a regular starting berth when ten Hag’s men return to European action on Thursday to play Moldovan outfit Sheriff, before they face fierce rivals Leeds in the Premier League on Sunday.

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