Ronaldo left out of ten Hag’s vows to bring good times back to Manchester United

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag opted not to mention superstar Cristiano Ronaldo as he vowed to bring ‘good times’ back to the club.

In a summer that promised to be the start of a rebuild at Old Trafford under ten Hag, the Red Devils have made just one signing so far – £14.6million left back Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord.

There had been multiple links, including with the likes of Kalvin Phillips – who has now gone to rivals Manchester City – Declan Rice and Frenkie de Jong – but none have materialised.

This is particularly concerning given 13 players left at the start of the summer.

Even more worryingly for United fans, though, it’s also been reported that their talisman, Ronaldo, wants out.

It’s understood the Portuguese star feels he can’t win trophies with Manchester United, and given he’s 37, there isn’t room for him to waste time.

Meanwhile, talkSPORT’s transfer insider Alex Crook has stated that United are saying Ronaldo is not for sale.

So, amongst the ongoing silence regarding ins and outs at Old Trafford, ten Hag sat down to give an interview with the club’s media – perhaps to reassure supporters that all was well despite the lack of activity.

“We are brave and willing to have the ball, to give each other options. But also off the ball, to get the pressing style is what we’re working for together.

“That is my job, to construct a team and to improve the team. You can do it in different ways or in more ways but, to start, it is out of a philosophy. 

“And then you build it and go into the individuals, and you give them the rules and principles.”

However whilst ten Hag’s words have been full of promise and vision, there was an elephant in the room. What about Ronaldo?

“I have to learn, to know my squad, the personalities, the individuals, the players,” ten Hag said when continuing to discuss his vision for United.

“That is, I think, one of the biggest advantages from the tour, we have two weeks to work really close together and we will learn about each other because I want to learn about them and they want to learn about me, my coaches and assistant managers.”

Of course, what the Dutchman didn’t bring up in his interview was the absence of Ronaldo – who will have been a key character in the team – on their pre-season tour.

This is ironic given ten Hag spoke about ‘individuals’ several times in the interview.

The footballing icon did not travel with the team for the tour and has been granted additional time off due to a family issue.

However, United fans are rightly becoming concerned that Ronaldo’s future still remains up in the air with just one month to go until the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.