Raphael Varane picking a side in Erik ten Hag vs Ronaldo debate speaks volumes

Of all the obstacles Erik ten Hag has faced so far during his fledgling Manchester United tenure, the furore surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo has perhaps, on paper, been the most challenging.

Finding out that last year's leading goalscorer wants to quit the club just weeks after your arrival is hardly the ideal start for a new manager gearing up for life in the Premier League. But that's the exact hand that Ten Hag was dealt earlier this summer - and the Dutchman has coped with it admirably.

Since his desired summer transfer failed to materialise, Ronaldo has been consigned to a bit-part role after missing the club's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.

And although the Portuguese superstar is desperate to feature more prominently ahead of the World Cup later this year, Ten Hag had already made it clear that Ronaldo was unlikely to be handed a starring role after missing a large portion of the club's pre-season preparations - a stance he reiterated earlier this month.

The new United chief said: "As we said, Ronaldo is here. And, as we all know, he didn't have a pre-season. You cannot miss pre-season. It's a base. Especially with the game we play, the way we want to play. We don't play in the same way we did last year, there is no comparison. This demands cooperation and it demands certain positioning in - and out - of possession. The other thing is his fitness."

Given that Ten Hag has won plenty of plaudits for his brave, no-nonsense stance over Ronaldo, it is unlikely it will soften anytime soon.

Join the debate! Do you think Ronaldo should be starting games for Man Utd? Let us know here.

And recent comments made by United defender Raphael Varane appear to indicate that the dressing room is in full agreement with the approach Ten Hag has chosen to take.

"We communicate a lot, the pre-season was very important for that, the tour that we did," Varane said, during an interview with TCL Global earlier this week. "It was important to build the spirit of this team."

The World Cup winner's verdict on pre-season resonates perfectly with the comments Ten Hag made earlier this month and will come as a further boost to the United boss, who has already been praised by Bruno Fernandes for instilling some much-needed discipline into the United squad since his arrival.

But Varane's comments will carry extra significance for Ten Hag given the Frenchman's previous relationship with Ronaldo.

The pair won four Champions League titles together during their stint at Real Madrid, but Varane's stance indicates that he believes Ten Hag has made the right call by leaving Ronaldo out - even if it is a controversial one.

And given that United have thrived in recent weeks with a rejuvenated Marcus Rashford leading the line rather than Ronaldo, it's easy to see why more and more people are coming to the conclusion that Ten Hag has got this call spot on.

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