EPL: Marco Van Basten Advises Erik Ten Hag Over Ronaldo

Dutch legend, Marco van Basten has said that Cristiano Ronaldo will remain a key figure at Manchester United under their new boss, Erik ten Hag.

Ten Hag will leave Ajax for Manchester United at the end of the season, with several high-profile players expected to move on.

Top stars, such as Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, and Jesse Lingard are all set to leave Old Trafford, while Nemanja Matic has already confirmed his departure.

Manchester United could not qualify for Champions League football next season and if Ronaldo stays, it would be his first season for over ten years to play for a non-Champions League club.

So, there have been questions about Ronaldo’s future at the club, with reports this month suggesting ten Hag does not see the Portuguese as part of his plans next season.

The 37-year-old Portuguese was arguably Manchester United’s best player in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal.

And van Basten believes Ronaldo will remain part of ten Hag’s team, confident the new manager can help him adapt his game further.

“If Ronaldo carries on playing like he did last week (against Norwich) and scores two or three goals in a match regularly, there is no need to take him out of the team,” Van Basten told The Rondo Show.

“Ten Hag will take into account that he cannot ask the same things physically from Cristiano Ronaldo that he will be asking of an 18-year-old.

“Of course, Ronaldo will need to work hard – and I am sure he will work hard because I can see Ten Hag influencing him to get him to play how he wants.

“I will give Erik one piece of advice: don’t listen to the media when you start there.

“He will have such a massive focus on his job, on his work on the training ground and the team. And when he does that, I am sure he can change everything at United,” he added.