“I will deal with that” Ten Hag sends clear warning to Ronaldo after he goes down the tunnel before the final whistle.
Before Manchester United’s match against Tottenham had even ended, Cristiano Ronaldo walked right down the tunnel.
With goals from Bruno Fernandes and Fred in the second half, United defeated third-placed Spurs in what was perhaps their strongest performance under Erik ten Hag.
Although United’s performance was excellent and they closed the gap on the top four to just one point, Ronaldo’s behavior may have cast a negative light on the victory.
The Portuguese superstar did not want to stay for the entire 90 minutes at Old Trafford and was an unutilized substitute.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was seen leaving the field with his bib still on with 89 minutes remaining in the game and stoppage time still to be used.
To start the game, Ten Hag opted for a front three of Antony, Jadon Sancho, and Marcus Rashford and stated his reasoning for benching Ronaldo.
Marcus Rashford was unavailable for 90 minutes due to illness over the weekend, according to Ten Hag, who spoke to MUTV.
“If not, he would have begun on Sunday. You could see that we were becoming more lively in front at the very moment Marcus entered. We need to break the lines today in order to build up the game, and we also know that Cristiano [Ronaldo] poses a threat to score the game-winning goal from the bench.
Late substitutions of Scott McTominay, Anthony Elanga, and Christian Eriksen resulted in Ronaldo being benched yet again.
Ten Hag said he didn’t sign him “out of respect for his tremendous career” after he went unnoticed in Manchester City’s 6-3 thrashing.
Ten Hag said on Amazon Prime’s coverage that he had not spoken with Ronaldo before the player left early and promised to “deal with it tomorrow.”
Ronaldo made headlines during the preseason when he left Old Trafford before the friendly match against Rayo Vallecano was over.
Ten Hag called his behavior “inappropriate” on that particular occasion.
Ronaldo submitted a transfer request in the summer because he was desperate to leave United a second time.
However, no suitable suitor was discovered, and Ronaldo has scored twice in 12 appearances, including his 700th career goal.
He is obviously still unhappy, though, and as January approaches, rumors about his future will only grow.
