Cristiano Ronaldo‘s return to Man United has had it fair share of drama and now the star player faces another hurdle after his manager Erik ten Hag yesterday dropped him from the top squad.
Cristiano will not be part of Manchester United’s squad that will be playing against Chelsea soon after being disciplined by Erik ten Hag following an incident that happened during a game.
It is also reported that the 37-year-old will be training separately from the rest of United’s first team squad for the next three days after leaving Old Trafford before the end of Wednesday’s 2-0 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur.
United’s manager is said to be having full support from the top club’s hierarchy after he took disciplinary action against the five-time Ballon d’Or winner though Cristiano still remains an important asset of the squad. In a statement, United said: “Cristiano will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday’s game against Chelsea. The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that fixture.”
The Portuguese player was disciplined after he decided to leave his seat during the Tottenham game and headed straight to the player’s tunnel. Cristiano did so because he had been left out of the starting line-up and after failing to come on, he left his seat in Old Trafford’s home dugout in the 90th minute of United’s win against Tottenham, before stoppage time had been played and the final whistle had blown.
Manchester United have refused to comment on whether Ronaldo had initially refused Ten Hag’s order to come on as a substitute before making his exit. Ten Hag had only made three of a possible five substitutions at the time and when asked about Ronaldo after the final whistle, the manager said: “I have seen him [leaving], I didn’t speak to him after. I will deal with that tomorrow [Thursday].”
Cristiano will miss Manchester United’s game against Chelsea
In a statement on Instagram, Ronaldo insisted that “respect has always played a very important role in my decision-making process” and was adamant that he tries to set a good example for United’s younger players. But Ronaldo admitted that “sometimes the heat of the moment gets the best of us”.
He added: “Right now, I just feel that I have to keep working hard in Carrington, support my teammates and be ready for everything in any given game. Giving in to the pressure is not an option. It never was. This is Manchester United and united we must stand. Soon we’ll be together again.”
The incident was not the first example of Ronaldo leaving a match early during Ten Hag’s tenure, however. The Portugal international left Old Trafford midway through a pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano having been substituted by Ten Hag at half time in July.
Ten Hag stressed that Ronaldo was not the only player to leave early on that occasion, insisting that focusing criticism solely on Ronaldo was “not right”, but described the conduct of the players in question as “unacceptable”.
Check out: Usain Bolt Trademarks His Victory Pose Moves
Subscribe to our newsletter and learn about the latest hottest music, lyrics, and lugambo of the week!
Leave a Reply