The Portugal legend wanted to leave Old Trafford over the summer after United failed to qualify for the Champions League last season.
Super-agent Jorge Mendes was unable to find a new club for his client, who then missed the start of United’s pre-season schedule due to family reasons.
Perhaps unsurprisingly – given his desire to leave and limited pre-season – Ronaldo has endured a frustrating start to the season, scoring just one goal in 11 appearances in all competitions.
Ronaldo has started just one of Manchester United’s seven Premier League games under Ten Hag, who has put his faith in the more energetic Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
Ten Hag has publicly insisted that he will continue to rely on Ronaldo throughout the season but their relationship is believed to be strained to say the least, with Ronaldo expected to push for a January move.
The Times describe Ronaldo as being at ‘loggerheads’ with Ten Hag, who he views as ‘stubborn’ and ‘unnecessarily wedded’ to the style of football he implemented at his former club Ajax.
It is claimed Ronaldo has privately complained about the ‘nature and quality’ of Ten Hag’s training sessions, with United suffering heavy defeats to Manchester City and Brentford already this season.
Ronaldo is also said to be ‘furious’ after Ten Hag claimed he did not bring him on during last weekend’s Manchester derby ‘out of respect’.
‘I wouldn’t bring him in out of respect for Cristiano and for his big career,’ Ten Hag said after the 6-3 loss.
Speaking just a few days ago, Ten Hag finally admitted that Ronaldo was ‘p**** off’ with his lack of game-time at Old Trafford.
‘He’s not happy that he didn’t play Sunday, don’t get me wrong, but the question was about his mood in training, where he’s happy,’ said Ten Hag.
‘Of course, he wants to play and he’s p***** off when he’s not playing.
‘It’s always about, you live by the day, you line up the strongest team you had, but there are differences and no one is the same in the team.
‘I treat everyone with respect, but they have all different backgrounds, so I have to treat players to get the best out of them.
‘When you are here, when you are happy, satisfied on the bench, this is not the club you have to be.
‘Cristiano is really competitive, he is not happy when he is not playing, but I have to repeat, maybe you didn’t hear, he is training well, he is in a good mood, he is motivated and he gives his best and that is what we expect.’
Ronaldo was handed a rare start on Thursday night as Manchester United travelled to Cyprus to face Omonia in the Europa League.
The 37-year-old was unable to register his 700th professional goal – hitting the post and seeing a powerful strike well saved – but did make an assist as United survived a scare to win 3-2.
It remains to be seen whether Ronaldo starts Sunday’s Premier League clash against Everton, but Ten Hag will be desperate to get back to winning ways domestically after a humbling afternoon at the Etihad last week.
MORE : Patrice Evra’s Premier League predictions including Everton vs Man Utd
MORE : Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho would look a ‘different player’ at Arsenal
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
