The back page headlines suggest Cristiano Ronaldo is threatening to quit Manchester United in the summer if he doesn’t like the new manager.
Boo-hoo!
That same story — from the Daily Star — states that Ronaldo, who made a sensational homecoming in the summer, would be unhappy if Ralf Rangnick was handed the job on a full-time basis.
While this is just mere speculation and we know how everyone, including former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, wants to tarnish Ronaldo’s name with every opportunity they get, it all seems very opportunistic.
Do I believe Ronaldo is throwing his toys out of the pram over a manager who has not yet been named?
Honestly, no.
Ronaldo signed a two-year contract in the summer, which means he has one season left when the current campaign ends, so why would United need to consult him on the managerial process?
FOLLOW THE AUTHOR ON TWITTER: @ODonnellDale
How does a player, aged 36 and coming to the end of his career, feel entitled to such privileges when he can clearly see all is not right with the team dynamic?
The results are nowhere near good enough and unless things significantly improve, Ronaldo won’t be retiring with another Premier League winners’ medal.
It’s a great shame but there’s still light at the end of the tunnel because without him we wouldn’t be looking forward to the knockout stages of the Champions League. United can’t afford to think solely about Ronaldo, or any one player, when it comes to appointing the next manager.
Otherwise they would quickly opt for Fernando Santos, which I can assure you won’t be happening.
It’s time to let the football people at the club make the important decisions, not our new CEO Richard Arnold, who I don’t think fancies himself to take a hands-on approach to football matters.
Who are the candidates?
There are only three (two if you speak to most United fans) candidates worth discussing.
While some reports have put Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers’ name into the hat, Stretty News understands that Manchester United have placed both Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag higher up on their list of targets.
Ajax manager Ten Hag has reportedly leapfrogged Pochettino to become the leading candidate.
With the benefit of hindsight, United should probably have appointed Pochettino when he became available after leaving Tottenham Hotspur in November 2019.
That was when he spent 15 months out of work while United backed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before accepting the Paris Saint-Germain job.
Last 2 years have been about creating a squad, which ,poch is probably not a master at bar has been lifted can’r arrive come 2nd and expect to have his reputation enhanced
Hi Timo, thanks for your comment.
While I agree that the last couple of years has been about building under Ole, it does concern quite a section of the fan base that these players aren’t showing the interim boss any respect, and appear to be thinking about their summer holidays in early January. No fan wants to hear the season is over that soon – but it might be depending on Monday’s result against Villa in the FA Cup.