Ronaldo and Ten Hag’s relationship has not recovered from bad start, says Peter Schmeichel

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Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel says he believes Cristiano Ronaldo and Erik ten Hag’s relationship has not recovered from a bad start.

Speaking to CBS Sports‘ pre Champions League coverage, Schmeichel was weighing in on the ongoing discussion of Cristiano Ronaldo’s situation at Manchester United.

Ronaldo was axed from the squad against Chelsea after storming down the tunnel before full-time against Tottenham last week.

He returned to training on Tuesday and could feature against Sheriff Tiraspol this coming week.

Schmeichel on Ronaldo and Ten Hag

Schmeichel explained he believes Ronaldo and Ten Hag have simply not hit it off, after the player did not turn up for pre-season tour.

He said: “I think a lot of things went wrong right at the beginning. Ten Hag comes in with an idea about what he’s going to do, and he wants his system, and therefore I think very quickly I think Cristiano realised, ‘I’m not going to have this kind of role I’ve had at all the clubs I’ve been at’, now I want to leave.

“I think that wanting to leave has kind of, started off on the wrong foot for the two of them.”

Schmeichel went on to add that while Ronaldo did not leave, he remains an overbearing presence

“He’s not left, he’s there, he’s a massive influence, his personality, everyone talks about him, it doesn’t matter if he plays or doesn’t play.”

When Ronaldo chose not to return for pre-season tour, he was probably confident he would be able to land a move away from Manchester United.

But after failing to get a move, he has to deal with the consequences, including a real missed opportunity to get to know Ten Hag and his system better.

Ten Hag has given Ronaldo opportunities, he has played 691 minutes for Manchester United this season. Unfortunately he has only scored two goals, one of which was a penalty.

This poor level of performance is the main problem holding Ronaldo back. If he can return to scoring goals regularly, he will find his relationship with Ten Hag quickly improves.