Report: This is how Manchester United lied to Cristiano Ronaldo to keep him happy

Cristiano Ronaldo had reportedly “vetoed” the possible arrival of Antonio Conte at Manchester United before he signed for Tottenham, while the club tried to convince him that the next manager of the team will be Zinedine Zidane, according to British media.

The Old Trafford hierarchy have reportedly already decided to bring in ErikTen HagofAjax on a four-year deal, but there have been developments surrounding the selection of the next manager following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November.

Following Solskjaer’sdismissal, there was speculation that Conte was just waiting for a call from the team, but Ronaldo had “reservations” about his possible appointment, which he made clear to the club’s board.

WhatManchester United promised to Cristiano Ronaldo

His agent, Jorge Mendes, had reportedly sought assurances that the Norwegianwould be sacked following Watford’s 4-1 defeat on 20 November and recommended Sevilla’s Hulen Lopetegui as a potential successor.

As a ploy to keep their main star happy, Manchester United allegedly spread “baseless” reports linking Zinedine Zidane to their vacant management post,according to the Manchester Evening News.The Portuguese reportedly gave Zidane his OK before the end of last season, according to reports at the time. Ralf Rangnick was named as interim manager until the conclusion of the season in place of the Frenchman.

After Solskjaer was fired owing to other contenders being recruited elsewhere, Zidane seemed to be the natural pick for the United manager’s post. After leaving Real Madrid at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season, he was free to sign with any team he desired.

The veteran forward was Zidane’s talisman in Los Blancos. Last August, Ronaldo stated, “Zizouhelped me a lot. Working with him increased my already high regard for him. The reason for this is because of who he is as a person, how he communicates, how he leads the team, and how he treats me as a person.”