Manchester United takeover hopeful Thomas Zilliacus has backed Erik ten Hag’s early season decisions over Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo forced through an exit from Manchester United at the end of last year by mutual consent.
Ronaldo was unhappy with manager Erik ten Hag, who had been reluctant to make the veteran a centre-piece of his attack.
Manchester United have since gone on to win the Carabao Cup, with Ronaldo signing with Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr.
Zilliacus backs Ten Hag
Thomas Zilliacus is a Finnish businessman who has submitted an offer for Manchester United.
He has provided an interview to Dutch outlet NOS expressing his support for current United manager Erik ten Hag.
Zilliacus says he is a big supporter of Ten Hag’s work, and was particularly impressed with how he dealt 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.”
Ten Hag did give Ronaldo opportunities, but crucially, he did not show him special treatment when his discipline fell below the standards he demanded.
Ronaldo’s own form had dropped too, and an exit has suited all parties, despite the gaping hole in United’s squad up front which needs to be filled.
Zilliacus is only an outsider to win the race to buy Manchester United, yet his words are encouraging.
The last thing United fans want is for an owner to come in and disrupt Erik ten Hag and even replace him. Zilliacus indicates he would leave the Dutchman to carry on his work, and it is probably safe to assume Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim would do the same.
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