Ronaldo needs time to sort out problems-Fernandes
Erik ten Hag said last Monday that he did not know whether Ronaldo would return to training at their Carrington base next week
Portugal star Bruno Fernandes has said that Cristiano Ronaldo must be given time and space to deal with the family issue that prevented him from joining Manchester United’s pre-season tour.
Ronaldo, 37, was given permission to miss the tour of Thailand and Australia because of the issue. In April, he and his partner Georgina Rodriguez announced that one of the twins they were expecting had died.
“I don’t know what Cristiano said to the club or to the manager,” Fernandes, 27, said. “I don’t know what he’s going into his head, but we have to respect his space. From everything we know, he had some family problems, so we have to give him some space and that’s it.”
It is also understood that Ronaldo wants to leave the club this summer after their failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Erik ten Hag, the United manager, said last Monday that he did not know whether Ronaldo would return to training at their Carrington base next week when the squad return from Australia. Like Ten Hag, Fernandes has had no contact with Ronaldo of late.
When asked how important it is for Ronaldo to stay at the club, Fernandes said: “I don’t know. Cristiano was our top scorer last season, he added goals to us, but it’s the club that has to make the choices and Cristiano makes his own choice. I don’t know what’s going on in his head if he wants to leave. I didn’t ask him that.
“The only thing I asked Cristiano when he didn’t turn up, was if everything was okay with the family. He told me what was going on, that’s it. Nothing more.”
If there is one thing to take away from this Manchester United tour so far, it is that Ten Hag has restored some order and discipline to a dressing room that was fractured and unruly last season.
Ten Hag likes to crack the whip. During the final stages of the 3-1 win over Crystal Palace in Melbourne on Tuesday, the pitch side microphones caught the new United manager shouting “What the f*** are you doing?” to one player. It was unclear which player Ten Hag was targeting, but the message was clear — he expects the best standards, and that goes for off-the-field conduct too.
Stringent rules have been enforced at the team hotel. The players have been told to wear their suits for travel and they eat together three times a day. Alcohol has been removed from the mini bars in the players’ rooms.
Ten Hag is a stickler for punctuality too. Tardiness is worthy of punishment in his eyes. Fernandes is cut from the same cloth as Ten Hag. He demands the best and does not mince his words either so it came as no surprise that the Portuguese playmaker praised Ten Hag’s methods and admitted that United’s standards slipped last season.
“I think we missed that [discipline] for a while,” Fernandes said. “Discipline is important. Discipline is not only the way you play on the pitch, the position that you have, what you have to do, it’s also off the pitch.
“Don’t be late for meetings, don’t be late for meals, I think that’s really important because if everyone is on time and someone comes late, he should be punished and I think that’s really good that he [Ten Hag] is doing that. I like to be on time, so I won’t have any problem with that.”
