Erik ten Hag's blunt response to Cristiano Ronaldo Al Nassr question
By Tom Gott
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag rejected the chance to speak about Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portugal striker sealed his move to Al Nassr.
Ronaldo's bombshell interview last month saw the 37-year-old air his frustrations with Ten Hag, who he accused of disrespecting him before an agreement was reached to terminate his contract during the early stages of the World Cup.
After failing to generate significant interest in his services in Europe, Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia to ink a lucrative (and then some) two-and-a-half-year contract with Al Nassr.
Ten Hag has spoken openly of United's need to replace Ronaldo but, when asked if he had any comments to make about the striker's move after the Red Devils saw off Wolves on Saturday, the boss was not interested.
"I don't talk about the past, let's talk about the future,” he told reporters.
United are still in the market for a new forward and had been expected to win the race for Cody Gakpo, who spent months publicly flirting with the club after coming close to moving to Old Trafford last summer.
However, United declined to pursue the Dutchman this month, allowing Liverpool to swoop in and get a deal done.
United are expected to try and land a new forward on a loan deal in the coming weeks and 90min understands they are among the sides to have spoken with Atletico Madrid about Joao Felix, alongside Arsenal and Chelsea.
Felix is free to leave Atletico on loan but the Spanish side's desire to insert a purchase clause of around £100m in any deal has so far proven problematic.