Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Carrington this morning, with showdown talks with manager Erik ten Hag on the agenda.
Ronaldo arrived at the club’s training complex alongside the rest of the first-team players, for the first time since his omission from the squad at the weekend.
As reported in the Manchester Evening News, Ronaldo is keen to understand what his future holds at the club, after being reprimanded by Ten Hag for refusing to come on as a substitute in the win against Tottenham.
It’s believed Ten Hag is working toward integrating Ronaldo back into the squad, as he feels the 37 year old still has a part to play this season.
However, the Portuguese superstar will have to accept his role in the side and assure Ten Hag such acts of petulance will not happen again.
Ten Hag was staunch in his punishment with Ronaldo, who was on thin ice after committing a similar breach in pre-season when he left Old Trafford early against Rayo Vallecano.
Ronaldo wasn’t the only player to leave early on that occasion but Ten Hag was adamant such behaviour would not be tolerated moving forward and vowed to come down hard on repeat offenders.
Ronaldo has trained away from the first team since his refusal to come on and early exit, last Wednesday.
The incident added further fuel to the Ronaldo circus, who has made it clear he is unhappy with his current role in Ten Hag’s side, after failing to secure a move away from Manchester in the summer.
Ronaldo has started just two league games this season, with the majority of his appearances coming in the Europa League – a competition he is so desperate to get away from.
Should talks go well today, Ronaldo is expected to be available for selection for United’s next fixture, at home to Sheriff Tiraspol in Europe, on Thursday.
Ronaldo’s future beyond there is not so clear. It’s widely acknowledged he will not be triggering his one year contract extension in the summer but with the relationship between club and player deteriorating rapidly, a solution to cut ties in the January window may suit all parties.
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