Ten Hag insists Ronaldo is happy at Manchester United - except when he is left out of team

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo is happy at the club – but not when he is left out of the starting line-up.

The Portuguese veteran was an unused substitute in United's 6-3 derby humbling against Manchester City last weekend with television cameras capturing the attacker's obvious frustration as he watched helpless from the sidelines at the Etihad Stadium.

All summer, Ronaldo had been linked with a move away from Old Trafford after United's failure to secure Champions League football but no European big guns came calling and the 37-year-old has been forced to remain at the club.

He could well start his fourth game of the season in Thursday's Europa League game against Omonia Nicosia but Ten Hag was left deflecting questions about the forward's future ahead of the game in Cyprus.

“That he’s not coming on when we are 4-0 down, 5-1 down, 6-1 down and I don’t bring him on out of respect,” Ten Hag said.

“So, nothing to do with what’s happening for the future, what’s happening for January or next year.

“I don’t see he is unhappy, so he is happy. He is training well. He’s enjoying, I think everyone is training well. It’s a good spirit in the training. That’s not the point, but it’s important because it’s a base to work well.”

When asked again about Ronaldo’s situation, Ten Hag said: “He’s not happy that he wasn’t playing Sunday, don’t get me wrong, but that wasn’t the question.

“The question was about how he is on the training pitch, his mood when he’s around and he’s happy.

“But of course he wants to play and he’s [angry] when he’s not playing. Clear.”

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