Manchester United takeover bidder comments on Erik ten Hag decisions over Cristiano Ronaldo
Thomas Zilliacus, who hopes to take over Manchester United, has expressed support for Erik ten Hag’s initial season choices regarding Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo left Manchester United at the end of last year with mutual consent, citing his dissatisfaction with Ten Hag’s reluctance to make him a key part of the attack. Manchester United has since won the Carabao Cup, while Ronaldo has joined Al Nassr, a Saudi Arabian team.
Zilliacus backs Ten Hag
Thomas Zilliacus, a Finnish entrepreneur who has made a bid for Manchester United, recently spoke to Dutch media outlet NOS, stating his admiration for the club’s current manager, Erik ten Hag. Zilliacus expressed his strong support for Ten Hag’s leadership and was particularly impressed with the way he handled the situation with Cristiano Ronaldo.
He explained: “From what I have seen he is a brilliant manager. What he did with Ajax Amsterdam was amazing and what he has done now with Manchester United is equally amazing, because early in the season things didn’t look very good.
“He had the courage which I really admire, to tell even big established stars like Cristiano Ronaldo ‘this is me running this and this is what we all need to do.’
“And this led to Ronaldo leaving the club, which seems to have been a good move, because the club is doing significantly better without him.
“Ronaldo is a fantastic player there is no doubt about it. Very often when you have one star, it simply overwhelms the whole scenery. Then the team is not playing the way a team should together.
“I think Ten Hag has understood this and he has done an amazing job and I really do hope that he stays with the club, and if I would be the owner I would most definitely want to see him continue.”
Although Ten Hag did offer Ronaldo opportunities, he did not show him any special treatment when his behavior and performance fell below his high standards.
Ronaldo’s departure suited all parties involved, despite the significant gap in Manchester United’s forward line that must now be filled.
Although Thomas Zilliacus is an outsider in the race to purchase Manchester United, his remarks are reassuring to fans of the club. They do not want an owner to come in and disrupt Ten Hag’s work or replace him.
Zilliacus has suggested that he would allow the Dutchman to continue with his work, and it is reasonable to assume that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim would do the same.
Manchester United takeover bidder comments on Erik ten Hag decisions over Cristiano Ronaldo
