Cristiano Ronaldo exit at Manchester United may change Erik ten Hag's short term vision

On Saturday night, reports emerged that Cristiano Ronaldo had informed Manchester United of his desire to leave this summer if the club receive an acceptable offer. It has been claimed that his agent Jorge Mendes has spoken with both Chelsea and Bayern Munich about a potential move, but this was the first clear indication that he wanted to leave

The Manchester Evening News understands that United's stance remains that Ronaldo is not for sale under any circumstances and they fully expect him to fulfil his contract and be part of Erik ten Hag's squad next season, but the Portuguese forward has already set the precedent at Juventus that if he wants to leave he most likely will.

However what knock-on effect does this have on the expectations for Ten Hag this season? Will it lower expectations or put more pressure on him to succeed if United have to invest heavily to replace Ronaldo.

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Many United fans would just be happy to see an improvement in the team's style of play under Ten Hag. Last season under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, the team didn't have a clear identity or patterns of play and they suffered substantially because of it.

So Ten Hag is overseeing a major rebuild, both to instil a new way of playing at the club and also to overhaul the personnel. United have been pursuing a deal for Frenkie de Jong and Tyrell Malacia and look set to make a bid for Lisandro Martinez from Ajax; they are also pursuing Christian Eriksen on a free transfer.

It is likely that before Ronaldo's bombshell, Champions League qualification was likely the goal for Ten Hag, either through finishing in the top four or winning the Europa League.