Erik ten Hag has made new revelations about Cristiano Ronaldo, after the 37-year-old forward expressed his frustration at not being involved in Manchester United’s win over Tottenham Hotspur. The Red Devils dominated Antonio Conte’s men throughout the 90 minutes, as goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes bagged United all three points. However, it was a gam to forget for Ronaldo who returned to bench following his rare start against Newcastle United in the last game.
This was sixth time in eight games that Ten Hag benched Ronaldo in the league, as the Portuguese couldn’t hold back his frustration this time. Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel even before the full-time whistle was blown, as Ten Hag has now revealed that the forward refused to come on in the closing stages of the game. This has enraged the manager as well as the club hierarchy, as the their top-scorer from last season was axed from the overall squad for this weekend’s huge clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
There has to be consequences – Ten Hag reminds Cristiano Ronaldo of the ‘warning’
Ever since Erik ten Hag has taken over the United this summer, there has been a tiff between him and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Champions League’s all-time top scorer was irked at the Red Devils missing out on the elite European competition this season, as a result of their sixth place finish in the league last season. However, the club blocked his attempts at an exit and Ten Hag too has evidently handed him with a smaller role in the team. Ronaldo has lost his starting spot in Ten Hag’s league expedition, as he has only seen regular minutes in the Europa League.
A player of Ronaldo’s stature has understandably found it tough to adjust to the ‘bench role’, as he threw it out during the Spurs game. Moreover, he didn’t wait in the dressing room as well for the gaffer’s post-match talk after walking down the tunnel, which further left Ten Hag fuming. This has happened for the second time, as Ronaldo wasn’t present for the team talk against Rayo Vallecano too in the pre-season. Speaking about the incident in his pre-match presser ahead of the Chelsea game, Ten Hag confirmed to Sky Sports that Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t want to subbed-on against Tottenham:
“What [happened in] the talk is between Cristiano and me. The [club)]statement is also clear. I am the manager, I’m responsible for the top sport culture here and I have to set standards and values, and I have to control them. We are in a team.
“After Rayo Vallecano I said it’s unacceptable but he wasn’t the only one. That is for everyone, when it’s the second time it will have consequence. That is now what we did. We’ll miss him tomorrow, it’s a miss for the squad but I think it’s important for the attitude, mentality for the group and now we have to focus on Chelsea as that is important.
“I think it will be a reflection for him and also for everyone else. I set a warning at the start of the season and the next time it has to be consequence. When you are living together, playing together, football is a team sport and you have to fulfil certain standards and I have to control it.”