Ronaldo’s request to demote Man Utd teammate denied before Ten Hag’s arrival

Cristiano Ronaldo had a request to replace Harry Maguire as Manchester United captain turned down during his time at Old Trafford, according to reports.

United ended up terminating Ronaldo’s contract in November after he took aim at the club’s hierarchy and Erik ten Hag in a lengthy interview with Piers Morgan.

Ronaldo also blasted United’s decision to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with Ralf Rangnick last season, claiming that the German is ‘not even a coach’.

United’s struggles continued under Rangnick in the second half of last season, while Ten Hag immediately sensed a fractured dressing room when he arrived at Old Trafford last summer.

‘There was no spirit,’ Ten Hag said in December. ‘I saw no team dynamic in the squad.’

And it appears United’s lack of spirit in the dressing room involved the senior members of the squad as ESPN report that Ronaldo had demanded to become the club’s captain after Rangnick replaced Solskjaer as interim manager.

However, the report claims that Rangnick denied Ronaldo’s direct request and allowed Maguire to keep the armband.

Maguire, meanwhile, has gone through his own difficult spell at United this season.

The 30-year-old, who joined in an £80 million deal from Leicester City in 2019, has fallen down the pecking order with Ten Hag preferring Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez as his preferred centre-back pairing.

According to ESPN, United’s coaching staff have concerns over Maguire’s tendency to rush out of position to win tackles and ‘a perceived lack of mobility’.

‘I want to play every game for my club and my country,’ Maguire said last week.

‘I feel like I’m good enough to play at a high level and I’ve proven that over the last five, six years now.

‘I understand that the lads who are playing at Manchester United are playing well and I’ve got some high competition in terms of some amazing centre halves at the club. It is good for the club and we push each other.’

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