David Moyes had to wrestle with Wayne Rooney who wanted to step down during his first summer in office in 2013 and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faced his own headaches with Romelu Lukaku six years later. Any coach will tell you that a restless star is one of his worst nightmares and the reality is that the players are not much bigger than Ronaldo. This is not a problem that can be brushed under the carpet.
How Ten Hag handles the situation will be as intriguing as it is important and will give us an early view of its human management, but there is no textbook in these cases. Questions about Ronaldo are likely to dominate his first press conference ahead of his first game against Liverpool in the Thai capital on Tuesday, when Ten Hag will quickly discover how incessant the level of interest in the club and his player is. most famous, above all. in Asia where the hysteria that greets United can lead to some digestion. And the longer Ronaldo stays out, the more persistent the questions will be.
Gary Neville, the former United captain, detected a possible crisis immediately when it was first known that Ronaldo wanted to leave, but his requests for the club to deal with the matter quickly and decisively and not let it become a saga are easier said than done.
Ten Hag may be able to talk to Ronaldo, but the player is unlikely to have asked for a move on a whim, and unless an offer that is acceptable to everyone arrives quickly, this particular episode has the potential to run and run. Chelsea have an interest and Napoli have been linked, but Ronaldo’s £ 40 million a year salary is likely to be an issue for any suitor and even if United relinquish their current position the player of 37 years is not for sale, it would. also charge a transfer fee.