DANNY MURPHY: Ronaldo has every right to be angry, but ten Hag needs to get him out

How do you solve a ‘problem’ like Cristiano Ronaldo? It might depend on whether you’re the CEO of Manchester United, or the manager.

There is definitely a financial element in the decision-making around Ronaldo. He has global commercial and merchandising appeal but if you stick to the football, I’m surprised Erik ten Hag didn’t deliver a more definitive verdict in the summer.

If you keep one of the greatest players of all time, he has to play because otherwise you are left with a superstar who is fuming, and most people would understand why given all he’s achieved.

Most people will understand why Cristiano Ronaldo is fuming at a lack of game time right now

United manager Erik ten Hag has made the decision to leave Ronaldo on the bench recently

Even last season he was United’s top scorer and he’ll still believe today he remains the best centre-forward at the club.

Quite simply, keeping him has given United a problem they don’t need. It would have been more sensible to wipe the slate clean in the summer and let him go.

Ten Hag must have had an idea of how he wanted his team to play when he arrived at Old Trafford. He would have done his homework on United’s strengths and weaknesses and if Ronaldo didn’t fit the blueprint, let him leave. 

By having him stay merely to sit on the bench or feature in the Europa League, it’s akin to having your cake and eating it. It cannot be a harmonious atmosphere when Ronaldo is in the line of substitutes. 

Keeping hold of him is giving United a problem they don’t need – they should have got rid

Those pictures of him and Casemiro sitting together against Manchester City, shaking their heads in disbelief, gives off the worst impression for the club.

I’m not saying Ronaldo has thrown his toys out of the pram but his mere presence as a sidelined player cannot be good for the group. 

When the January transfer window opens there is no point in keeping Ronaldo because the existing issues are only going to get worse. He won’t be a mainstay in Ten Hag’s team and the longer he is left hanging around, unhappy, the more problematic it will be for everyone.

A senior player can provoke little moments in a squad if they are moody or edgy. It gets to the stage where it is a relief to the other lads when they’ve gone.

Former Real Madrid team-mates Ronaldo and Casemiro have been forced to watch on lately

The focus is always on Ronaldo. The cameras are trained on him in every game, seeing what his reaction is like. It brings heat to the whole situation. It puts added pressure on Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial when they play ahead of a multiple Ballon d’or winner.

Ronaldo scored 23 goals in a struggling team last season. At 37, he wants to play. I feel frustrated on his behalf. He has every right to be angry.

A similar situation may also be brewing with Casemiro if he’s not picked against Everton tomorrow. United paid £70million for him and to have a five-time Champions League winner as understudy to Scott McTominay doesn’t make sense.

The only explanation is that Ten Hag didn’t want to change a winning team. Conceding six at City removes that reasoning and I’d be gobsmacked if Casemiro is not in the starting XI at Goodison. 

United should get rid of the forward when the transfer window open in January next year

If he’s not, he should be knocking on the manager’s door. Someone of his quality didn’t move to United to sit on the bench.

For Ronaldo, the one silver lining in a difficult situation is that he can go to the World Cup fresh, which could be to Portugal’s advantage. I saw him live in 2018 score a fantastic hat-trick against Spain. 

He’ll go to Qatar fit, hungry and determined, and I think he is more than capable of having a big impact.