Among the many hurdles ten Hag had to overcome at the early part of his reign with Manchester United was taking care of Ronaldo.
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Erik ten hag has been praised by many people for the way he has transformed Manchester United in his first season with the club. From former players to pundits, prospective new owner has also joined the list of people in praising ten Hag’s work with the club till now. Manchester United bidder Thomas Zilliacus has gone on to praise many attributes of the Dutch manager but what has caught his eye the most is the handling of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Among the many hurdles ten Hag had to overcome at the early part of his reign with Manchester United was taking care of Ronaldo. The Portuguese star has always been the main player in whichever team he has played in. However, ten Hag did not hesitate to drop him to the bench when he believed United would play better without him. It led to plenty of off-the pitch incidents which eventually resulted in Ronaldo’s contract being terminated and him joining Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus has admired the way in which Erik ten Hag had handled that difficult situation. “From what I’ve seen, he’s a brilliant manager,” Zilliacus told Dutch outlet NOS. “What he did with Ajax was amazing and what he’s done now with Manchester United is equally amazing. Because early in the season, things didn’t look very good. And he had the courage, which I really admire, to tell even big estabilished stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo ‘look, this is me running this and this is how I need to do’.”
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Zilliacus stated that if he becomes the owner, he would love to see ten Hag continue in his role. “And that led Ronaldo to leave the club which now seems to have been a good move, because the club is doing significantly better without him. I think he’s done an amazing job. So I really hope that he stays with the club and if I would be the owner I’d definitely want to see him continue,” he added.
The bidding process for Manchester United have been largely dominated by Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the media. However, Zilliacus is also firmly in the race now, as he stated that the supporters will be an important part of the club if he becomes the next owner. “Without fans there is no club,” he added. “When the deal is done and I own the club, I will invite them to buy shares in the club. As far as I am concerned, Manchester United does not belong to one person, not an ego trip, but to everyone with a heart for the club.”
