During last night’s win against Tottenham Hotspur, Cristiano Ronaldo made the rather shocking decision to leave Old Trafford after refusing to come on as a substitute.
Manchester United put in their best performance of the season (arguably in recent seasons) against Tottenham, another top four contender. Fred and Bruno Fernandes were on the scoresheet as, once again, Marcus Rashford was preferred over Ronaldo to start up front.
After the match, Erik ten Hag was asked about Ronaldo’s despicable decision, and simply said: “I’ll deal with it tomorrow.” He has kept his word.
Mail Sport, naturally, had reported that “Ten Hag was furious at Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to head into the tunnel before the final whistle against Tottenham.”
The Dutchman is notoriously strict with discipline and expects his players to share these dedicated professional values.
When a youth squad was twice late for team meetings during pre-season, Ten Hag dropped him from the starting eleven selected for the next friendly match.
Another preseason release shares a surprisingly similar vibe to last night. When United hosted Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford, Ronaldo left the stadium before the final whistle.
Ten Hag spoke about the matter at the time,
‘I certainly don’t approve of this […] I told them it was unacceptable. We are a team, a squad, and you should stay until the end.
Ronaldo had been desperate to move away from United over the summer but, despite the best efforts of Jorge Mendes, no major club showed any real interest in such a transfer.
Ten Hag was said to be very happy to let the ego-driven 37-year-old go. This judgment has been evidenced through Ronaldo’s consistent placement on the bench this season. Furthermore, Ronaldo was also seen exaggeratedly shaking his head in disapproval when he was taken off during the draw with Newcastle United, yet another sign that his personality does not align with the laconic Ten Hag.
Joel Glazer reportedly acted as a roadblock to prevent Ronaldo’s departure, holding the view that the Portuguese’s commercial value is too great an asset to be quickly eliminated.
Yesterday’s match marks the second match against a ‘Big Six’ club during which Ronaldo was not substituted on the pitch, the first being the Manchester Derby. But of course yesterday’s reasoning was completely different.
In refusing to be substituted against Tottenham, the lack of respect for the United crest, his team-mates, the manager, the fans or even his own professionalism is evident, especially considering the £515,000 weekly salary sterling.
As a result of these cumulative factors, Ten Hag should feel justified in his historic decision to remove Ronaldo from training until further notice. He can sit back in the comfort of his team’s superior performances and results when the smug star isn’t on the field.
Reports already suggest that United would be willing to release Ronaldo. David Ornstein also revealed that United would be willing to enter the market for a new striker in January if Ronaldo left.
???? If Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Manchester United in January, signing a replacement would be a major consideration.
(Source: @David_Ornstein) pic.twitter.com/aJ7zT29BsG
– Live News Transfer (@DeadlineDayLive) October 20, 2022
Ten Hag not only imprinted his authority on this team, he embedded himself in football history, simply by sticking to his cherished principles that have seen him progress to the stage he is at now.
By leaving Ronaldo out of the first-team squad for the crucial upcoming match against Chelsea, the manager has shown that Vallecano’s incident was a warning. The Tottenham debacle has served as a later lesson. And with that, it’s hard to see how Ronaldo, or any other player who has displeased Ten Hag more than once, can win back the manager’s trust.
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