Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo

Just like the old days, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, who has now taken over punditry duties at Sky Sports made one demand to Cristiano Ronaldo before their showdown against Liverpool. Ronaldo was benched by the new boss Erik ten Hag, which may have surprised many but not all. The Dutchman went for Anthony Elanga and dropped the Portuguese, alongside club captain Harry Maguire.

Ten Hag’s bold move did pay-off as United started with great intensity to take the lead in the 16th minute through Jadon Sancho. There were no signs of Ronaldo coming on at the half-time as the Red Devils soon doubled their lead with Marcus Rashford slotting it past Alisson. The 37-year-old forward finally took the pitch in the 86th minute as United went on the claim all three points with a 2-1 win.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United legend and former teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo, Roy Keane had a demand for the forward ahead of their Liverpool clash. Credits: Twitter

Keane demands Cristiano Ronaldo to ‘be in the team’

Cristiano Ronaldo has requested the Red Devils to let him leave this summer as he aspires to continue to feature in the Champions League. However, he still has pledged full professionalism to the club taking part in every training session and being available for selection, despite missing their preseason tour.

A repeat of last summer’s situation is expected here, where Cristiano featured for Juventus once before leaving for United. He has already played three times for the Devils this season, however coming-off the bench twice. Man United legend Roy Keane, who has shared the dressing room with the mercurial forward couldn’t believe the new gaffer had left him on the bench for a crucial game.

As Keane was in conversation with fellow pundits Gary Neville and Jammie Carragher with host Dave Jones, Ronaldo took a breather from his pre-match warmup and met with his former United teammates. Keane and Ronaldo had a quick chat there, where the former can be heard quizzing the forward: “Benched?”

To which Ronaldo replied: “What do you want me to do?”. Keane then bluntly demanded, “Be in the team!”, as the 37-year-old snapped back: “I Know!”

Furthermore, the conversation was also headlined by the Portugal international giving cold shoulder to his critic Jammie Carragher. Ronaldo snubbed the Liverpool legend for a handshake as he kept him hanging while embracing Neville and Keane.

The former Real Madrid star is still looking to find a new club with his super agent Jorge Mendes who is in talks with a number of clubs to facilitate his client’s incoming. At 37, it is quite certain that Cristiano Ronaldo, the all-time top scorer of the Champions League does not want to miss the competition in his twilight years.