Man Utd ‘seriously’ considered re-signing 33y/o ace in shock move; players stunned by Ronaldo ‘humiliation’

Manchester United gave ‘serious thought’ about reuniting with Danny Welbeck during Erik ten Hag’s spell in charge, while more light has been shed on Cristiano Ronaldo’s time back at Old Trafford.

According to The Athletic, while Ten Hag was happy with the signings of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, he always wanted an experienced Premier League striker to ‘share the burden’. Ten Hag had been eager for Man Utd to sign Harry Kane in summer 2023 but he instead went to Bayern Munich, forcing the Dutchman to look at different options.

Towards the end of last season, as United prepared for Anthony Martial to leave, Ten Hag recommended that Brighton & Hove Albion star Welbeck be captured.

At Ten Hag’s request, United chiefs ‘internally discussed’ whether to sign Welbeck and were ‘seriously’ thinking about sending him an offer.

The striker has often performed well against his former club, only increasing Ten Hag’s interest.

However, uncertainty surrounding Ten Hag’s future – plus the fact Dan Ashworth’s move to Old Trafford was delayed – prevented United from making an offer in time, The Athletic state.

Instead, the 33-year-old penned a new contract with Brighton. He has further added to United’s woes by being in great form this campaign, having notched six goals in just nine appearances.

Welbeck grew up in Longsight, Manchester and came through the United academy before going on to make 142 first-team appearances for the Red Devils. He left for Arsenal in 2014 but likely would have jumped at the chance to return.

It would have been interesting to see how Welbeck moving back to United would have been received. On October 13, Gary Neville stated that the Englishman never should have been let go by United, but Roy Keane refuted this claim.

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Ten Hag’s brutal treatment of Ronaldo

One striker who did return to United is Ronaldo. While United’s 2021-22 campaign was historically bad, the Portugal icon registered 24 goals in 39 games across all competitions.

But tension soon started to arise as Ronaldo was unhappy with being rotated by Ten Hag after the manager arrived that summer.

Ten Hag told Ronaldo to train away from the first team after he refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur in October 2022.

United’s players and club chiefs were initially on Ten Hag’s side, according to the latest from ESPN, but he then ‘took the punishment too far’.

At one stage, Ronaldo tried to enter the dressing room to retrieve a pair of trainers. However, staff told the five-time Ballon d’Or winner he was not allowed in, to his shock.

The ‘stand-off’ was only solved when Ronaldo asked an academy player to go in and get the trainers for him.

The report adds that a number of senior players felt Ten Hag’s severe treatment of Ronaldo was ‘an unnecessary humiliation’.

Ronaldo went on to conduct a bombshell interview the next month in which he slammed Ten Hag and United, ensuring his second spell at the club would come to an end.

The goal machine is now playing for Al-Nassr, and he reportedly wants to reunite with former United team-mate Paul Pogba in Saudi Arabia.

READ MORE: Six Man Utd players who could benefit from Ruben Amorim being appointed as next manager

Man Utd latest: Amorim praise, big January exit

Of course, Ten Hag has since been sacked, with Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim poised to replace him.

United have now been told that they are getting a ‘top’ manager who could emulate one of the best coaches of all time.

“He is the best manager Portugal have produced since Jose Mourinho,” Portuguese analyst Filipe Dias said of Amorim. “He’s not at the top of Portuguese football… He is the top.”

Reports claim Antony could be one of the first players to leave as United overhaul their squad for Amorim.

Ten Hag played a crucial role in United paying a whopping £86m (€103m / $111.8m) for Antony in summer 2022, but he has never gotten close to justifying that price tag.

The winger has been linked with former club Ajax, Flamengo, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace. Man Utd, however, know they will have to take a ‘huge’ financial hit when selling him in January.

How do Ten Hag and Amorim compare?