Ten Hag: Ronaldo is in our plans, he’s not going anywhere

Erik ten Hag, Manchester United manager, has noted that Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese star, is in his plans for the new season after fielding a number of questions on the striker’s future.

The Reds’ new boss was asked about the absence of the 37-year-old from his Tour 2022 squad during his pre-match press conference for tomorrow’s match against Liverpool in Bangkok.

“He is not with us, and it is due to personal reasons,” the manager said. “We are planning with Cristiano Ronaldo for this season.

“That’s it and I’m looking forward to working with him.”

He added: “Cristiano is in our plans and we want to get success together.”

Ten Hag was keen to stress he has previously had a very positive conversation with the 37-year-old. “I had a good conversation with him and I had a really good talk.”

When probed for details of this chat, the United boss refused to share any insight, reiterating his stance about the no.7.

“[The conversation] is between Cristiano and me,” he said. “But what I can confirm is we had a really good conversation together.”

United begin Tour 2022 with a fixture against Liverpool at the Rajamangala Stadium tomorrow (14:00 BST), live on MUTV, with Ronaldo not playing a part.

Ten Hag explained that the striker is absent for the moment, as has previously been communicated.

“I cannot tell,” the Dutchman responded when asked whether Ronaldo would be joining the Reds on tour. “The absence is already explained and that is it for the moment.”