Manchester: Cristiano Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute for Manchester United in their 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, the manager of the winning team Erik ten Hag said Friday. Cristiano Ronaldo headed to the locker room before the final whistle of Wednesday’s game at Old Trafford in a show of dissent. He has been omitted from Manchester United’s squad for the trip Saturday in the game against Chelsea.
Ten Hag held talks Friday with Ronaldo and said the Portugal striker ‘remains an important part of the squad’. However, Ten Hag said Ronaldo had to be disciplined for the sake of the culture within the team. He had earlier been critical of Ronaldo and some of his teammates for leaving a pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano in July.
“I have to set standards and values, and control them,” Ten Hag said. “I set a warning at the start of the season, and the next time there has to be consequences. Otherwise when you are living together, when you are playing together — and football is a team sport — you have to fulfil certain standards and I have to control it,” the manager added.
The 37-year-old Ronaldo took to social media late Thursday night to explain his behaviour in the Tottenham game. “I’ve always tried to set the example myself for the youngsters that grew in all the teams that I’ve represented,” Ronaldo wrote on Instagram. “Unfortunately that’s not always possible and sometimes the heat of the moment (gets) the best of us,” he added.
Ronaldo trained away from the first team Friday.
