He is the perfect replacement for Ten Hag,I think when given the chance He will definitely perform more better than Ten Hag”, Man United legend Michael Owen name 40yr old Legend as perfect option for Man united job
Michael Owen has admitted that he could see Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo enter the world of coaching and management after his playing career.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been with current side Al Nassr since 2023 after his falling out with Erik ten Hag and subsequent departure from Manchester United in 2022.
The 39-year-old Portuguese forward returned to Old Trafford in 2021 as part of a blockbuster move from Serie A side Juventus.
Ronaldo was an important first-team player under former teammate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was in the Old Trafford hot seat before his sacking in 2021.
But the Al Nassr star fell down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag and Ronaldo pulled no punches towards the United boss in his interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo represented Portugal at Euro 2024 in Germany this summer, with the United legend playing in his 11th major international tournament.
However, the Portugal skipper failed to find the back of the net for his country at the Euros and Roberto Martinez’s men were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Owen talks Man Utd legend Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has ruled out international retirement and the former Manchester United star is widely tipped to play at the 2026 World Cup with Portugal.
However, the Portugal skipper is heading towards the tail end of his career after dominating the world stage with Barcelona legend Lionel Messi for over a decade.
Speaking to TVsporten, Michael Owen insisted that it is “not far away” from the moment that Lionel Messi and Ronaldo call it time on their legendary careers.
Messi is currently playing for MLS outfit Inter Miami and, much like Ronaldo, is expected to feature at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Owen believes that it is more likely for Al Nassr captain Ronaldo to become a football manager in the future than Inter Miami superstar Messi.
“I’d be fascinated to see what Cristiano Ronaldo is going to do when he retires,” he said, as per Goal.
“Obviously, they’re [Messi and Ronaldo] not far away from that being the case.
“Their life has been in football and they absolutely love the sport and whether they can walk away from it in its entirety remains to be seen, they might want to go and own a club.
“They’re probably one of a few footballers that have got the money to go and own a big club so that could take precedence over coaching.
“It’ll be fascinating to see. I would say the likely person out of the two to go and manage would be Ronaldo.”
Owen on management role for Ronaldo
Ronaldo famously went viral during Portugal’s Euro 2016 final win over France at the Stade de France.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was forced off the pitch in the first half after an injury and was replaced with Ricardo Quaresma.
However, Ronaldo was spotted on the touchline alongside former Portugal manager Fernando Santos and wasn’t afraid to voice his feelings.
Owen recalled the Real Madrid legend’s behaviour from the Euro 2016 final and believes that the Portugal head coach role could have “his name on it” in the future.
“Just looking from the outside, it feels like he might want to be at the side of the pitch managing Portugal like he did at Euro 2016,” he added.
“He looks like a coach, he looks like he wants to coach, so he might want to go down that route.
“The Portugal job, probably in the future, we might have his name on it, you never know.
“Of course, if he does well, then great teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid would then be looking at him.”
