With Cristiano Ronaldo seemingly on the periphery of the Manchester United squad, a club legend has urged the five-time Ballon d'Or winner and manager Erik ten Hag to sit down and have an honest conversation.
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Ten Hag has come into Old Trafford and made some big decisions, one of them being the exclusion of Ronaldo from the starting XI recently.
The Dutch tactician has used the club's top goalscorer from last season sparingly during the early parts of the 2022/23 campaign, with the 37-year-old having started only one game in the Premier League and scored just one goal, which came in the UEFA Europa League.
His exclusion in recent matchweeks has corresponded with a four-game winning streak in the league for the Red Devils, and while former United left-back Patrice Evra understands where Ten Hag may be coming from, he insists that communication is key to handling the matter amicably.
"Let's be clear, to put Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench is a massive statement, because Cristiano Ronaldo will think it's not fair, last year he scored like 18 goals, so in his head he will be like 'why am I on the bench?' He's right, but you have a manager and you have to respect his decision," Evra told Betfair.
"I understand the frustration of Cristiano Ronaldo, but also Ten Hag was like 'I'm going to start a new era, Ronaldo is still in my plan', and I'm sure Cristiano Ronaldo is in his plan.
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"Maybe, United need to suffer right now and they will need other players, but you will always need Cristiano Ronaldo, trust me, there will be a moment when we say 'thanks Cristiano, please stay', I'm convinced about that.
"I think Ten Hag and Ronaldo need to, if they haven't already, have an honest discussion. Everything that is happening right now is logic."
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