Marco van Basten has an interesting claim regarding the future of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United under new manager Erik ten Hag.
The Dutch legend has advised his compatriot Ten Hag to keep Cristiano Ronaldo at the club as a key figure.
Erik ten Hag has already been announced as Manchester United's next manager for next season. The arrival of the 52-year-old is destined to coincide with a number of big departures from the Premier League club.
Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata and Lee Grant are all set to leave the Red Devils as their contract expires.
Serbian defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic has also announced his departure from Manchester United this summer.
The Red Devils could be open to offloading several other players from their squad as well.
However, van Basten has urged Ten Hag to keep Cristiano Ronaldo at all costs as he remains an outstanding goalscorer.
The 57-year-old told Portuguese media outlet A Bola:
“If Ronaldo continues to play like he did, for example, against Norwich [hat-trick] scoring regularly, there is no need to take him out of the team."
"Ten Hag will know that he won't be able to ask the same as an 18-year-old. Of course Ronaldo will have to work hard, but I see Ten Hag having enough influence over him to make him play as he wants."
"I give Erik a piece of advice: don't look at what the press says when you start. You will have to have a huge focus on your work, on training, on the team. If you do that, you can change everything at United.”
Cristiano Ronaldo has been immense for a below par Manchester United side
Cristiano Ronaldo's sensational return to Manchester United has been a move that continues to divide opinion
The Red Devils have endured arguably their worst ever season in the Premier League era.
While many have criticized the 37-year-old for his lack of work rate, he still has produced a great deal of attacking output.
The Portuguese superstar has scored a total of 22 goals in 36 games this season across all competitions. If not for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Manchester United's season could have been a lot worse.
Erik ten Hag will certainly need time to build his own squad and system at Old Trafford. He should definitely consider keeping Ronaldo as he is still a player who can make a difference when it matters.
Ikbest
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Glad it’s coming from a well renowned legend of the game because I have said it timeless time and even had a brief argument with some fans who was questioning the arrival of Ronaldo to the team all because he was going through goal drought during that period and I told them without Ronaldo United have no goal scorer in their team and despite his age, he’s still their best striker and highest goal scorer and if they allow him to leave all because of what the English medias are saying about him being a problem in the dressing and him it peeing hard on opponent they will regret it because he’s still a huge threat of defenders because he still has lots of goals in him. Though must not rely on Ronaldo for all the goals and that’s why a young striker is a priority in the United team and let Ten Hag have a blend of youth team and experience and the presence/ experience of Ronaldo in the dressing room will be very vital to the young players in the locker room. Letting Ronaldo go right now from United is like throwing 25 goals away in a season. And if Ten Hag can have enough influence over him like Van Basten has said and making him play to his strength of team I don’t see why United won’t bounce back quickly next season which I know Ronaldo will be up for the challenge Ten Hag will bring is way when he finally takes over next summer. Everyone has known Ronaldo to be a hardworking player so working with Ten Hag and buying into his football philosophy won’t be a problem for Ronaldo in the United team