Cristiano Ronaldo dropped by Erik Ten Hag after refusing to come on for Manchester United
It’s never a good sign when a player disregards him team or his coach and even more so when that player happens to be one of the game’s best ever.
It would appear that tensions between the Manchester United star and his head coach are intensifying after reports confirmed that the Portuguese forward refused to come on as a substitute and subsequently left the stadium early.
Cristiano Ronaldo attends training after Spurs controversy
According to surprising reports, Cristiano Ronaldo attended Manchester United training on Thursday just hours after storming down the tunnel before the full-time whistle in his side’s 2-0 win against Tottenham on Wednesday. Interestingly, Ronaldo refused to give any comments to reporters as he arrived at Carrington for the first time after his controversial actions yesterday evening. Fans were of course surprised to see Ronaldo left out of Ten Hag’s starting 11, after starting the previous two matches for the side. Indeed, it was Antony, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford who were front three selected.
Following the match, United’s coach was of course asked about Ronaldo’s actions and what he in turn planned to do about the situation. “I have seen him, but I didn’t speak to him. I will deal with that tomorrow, not today. We are celebrating this victory,” Ten Hag said at the time. “I don’t pay attention today. I will deal with it tomorrow. I want to keep the focus on the team and a magnificent performance from all 11 players and the subs who came on. It was a squad performance.”
This isn’t the first time Cristiano Ronaldo has taken issue with Erik Ten Hag
If you’ve been following Ronaldo’s situation at Manchester United, you will surely recall when he pulled a similar move during a preseason friendly against Rayo Vallecano back in July. On that occasion, Ronaldo was substituted at half time and proceeded to leave Old Trafford early. There was also another display of dissatisfaction just this Sunday gone, when United drew with Newcastle. Ronaldo was blatantly unhappy when he was removed in the second half of the goalless draw. This is not the first time that Ronaldo’s actions have been called into question this season.
“No player is happy when he comes off, especially not Ronaldo, I understand that. As long as it’s in a quiet normal way, no problem with that,” Ten Hag said. “...Of course, he is convinced he should stay on and should score a goal, that is why he’s that good.”
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What next for Cristiano Ronaldo, Erik Ten Hag & Manchester United?
The situation is clearly not sustainable. Having started just two league games this campaign, following his heavily publicized summer request to leave the club, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the player, coach and club are at a crossroads. At this point, it’s any one’s guess as to how this will all end, however, as United’s top scorer last season with 24 goals in all competitions, one can surely empathize with the former Real Madrid player’s frustrations.
Chelsea is the next test for the Red Devils and it is clear that their former hero is not needed on Saturday. He’s been dropped from the matchday squad. What happens next?