The 37-year-old had been keen to call time on his second spell at Old Trafford less than a year after returning from Juventus following a disappointing season for a club he has won medals aplenty with.
Ten Hag and the club repeatedly said throughout the summer that Ronaldo would be staying put and, despite speculation continuing right up until Thursday’s transfer deadline, so it proved. The star was at the King Power Stadium on Thursday rather than completing a move to a Champions League side, coming off the bench for the third successive game as the Red Devils won 1-0 at Leicester.
“, as we said,” Ten Hag said. “It’s really early in the season and we have a squad and we have more than starting 11 players and that is what you see now. Players who are now on the bench can play in one, two or three weeks.” Ronaldo’s lack of pre-season preparation has been the key reason behind the fact he has made just one start so far this season. He missed the pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to a family issue, with his only minutes being the first half of the friendly against Rayo Vallecano.