Erik ten Hag has spoken out about his tough stance against Cristiano Ronaldo after confirming the Portuguese refused to come on as a substitute in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
By bursting through the tunnel and leaving Old Trafford before the final whistle, Cristiano Ronaldo diverted attention from perhaps Manchester United’s best performance under Ten Hag to date.
The manager promised to deal with him later and has since withdrawn Ronaldo from the Chelsea game this Saturday. Athletic also reported that they have made him ‘train alone’ and, according to Samuel Luckhurst, he trained with the Under 21s.
Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Carrington at 8:30 am this morning and is scheduled to train with the #mufc under-21 [@samuelluckhurst]
— utdreport (@utdreport) October 21, 2022
In his pre-match press conference, Ten Hag provided more context for the decision to sanction Ronaldo, citing an earlier incident in which the former Real Madrid star was warned after he left at half-time during a friendly. pre-season against Rayo Vallecano. He said (via Dail Mail):
‘I am the manager, I am responsible for the world-class culture here and I have to set standards and values and I have to control them.’
‘In the team, we have values and standards and I have to control that. After Vallecano I told him that it was unacceptable but not everyone, it’s the second time, there are consequences.
“We will miss him tomorrow, it is a foul for the team but it is important for the attitude and mentality of the group and now we have to focus on Chelsea as that is important.”
“I think it will have a (time for) reflection for him, but also for everyone else. I sent a warning at the beginning of the season, next time there will have to be consequences, otherwise when they live together when they play together.” , football is a team sport and you have to follow certain rules. And I have to control it.
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Ronaldo wanted to leave the club in the summer, but was unable to do so. It doesn’t seem to be part of Erik ten Hag’s plans, as the Dutch prefer the likes of Rashford and Anthony Martial to lead the line over him. He has only made 12 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring two goals.
United are currently fifth in the Premier League table, and a win on Saturday would put them in the top four.
