Ronaldo wanted to leave Manchester United back in the summer, with the veteran making it clear he was hoping to play for a team who could offer him Champions League football.
Yet the Portugal international was denied his wish, with both Ten Hag and Richard Arnold making it clear they wanted him to stay.
No Champions League team actually came in for Ronaldo, who wasn’t deemed worth the fuss despite links to the likes of Atletico Madrid, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund.
And he’s since gone on to endure a nightmare start to the new season, failing to score from seven appearances (including two starts) so far.
Now, according to The Sun, Ten Hag has informed Rashford that he wants him to lead the line and become United’s regular first-choice marksman.
“The manager wants Marcus to be United’s No 1 striker and lead the line up front,” a source is quoted as saying.
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However, in pre-season, the 26-year-old flourished by scoring four times.
Martial, when he’s finally fit and ready to fire once again, is likely to be used in his preferred No 9 position – despite also being capable of the wing.
So with Rashford and his team-mate set to battle for a starting berth up top, with Jadon Sancho and Antony then out wide, it’ll be fascinating to see what happens.
With seven games on the board, Ronaldo is already struggling to make his mark at this new United team.
He’s still a good asset to have, that’s no question, but gone are the days where the 37-year-old started matches almost by default.
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With Rashford now earning Ten Hag’s trust, and Martial to return, life for the veteran in Manchester could become even trickier.
He’s simply not done enough to start matches so far this term, with the 37-year-old looking rudderless at the wheel of Ten Hag’s frontline.
And though Ronaldo won’t like it one back, even a player of his size and stature can’t fight against the clock.
Meanwhile, speaking on his YouTube channel, Fabrizio Romano has shut down suggestions Ronaldo has caused problems in the dressing room behind the scenes.
“Let me start with denying the biggest fake news we had around Cristiano Ronaldo for a long time, this summer we saw many stories, especially in August, early August, maybe having some problems in training, maybe having some problems with Erik ten Hag, maybe not happy with being on the bench, with some decisions by the manager,” he said.
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“What I’m told guys, having checked in with different sources, on the player’s side, on the club’s side, on many different kinds of sources, the feeling I have is that it was 100 per cent the same.
“Cristiano Ronaldo never created any single problem into the dressing room this season with Manchester United at all.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is not happy when he’s not playing. This is absolutely normal, as with all the top players around the world, but he’s fighting to be a starter. He’s fighting to be an important player for Manchester United.
“And also, when his transfer was looking likely at the beginning of August and end of July, he never started training as the best professional.
“This is a really clear message from different sides of this story – he never created any problems, never had a fight with team-mates or Erik ten Hag.”
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