‘The second time has consequences’ – Erik ten Hag explains hard-line stance against Cristiano Ronaldo
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Updated 21/10/2022 at 14:19 GMT
Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines for the wrong reasons in Manchester United's 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night. The Portugal captain refused to come off the bench when asked by Erik ten Hag and walked down the tunnel before the full-time whistle. It took the focus away from an impressive performance by the Red Devils to move them within a point of the top four.
Ten Hag to 'deal with' Ronaldo after early exit from win over Spurs
Erik ten Hag spoke about his hard-line stance against Cristiano Ronaldo after confirming that he refused to come off the bench in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
It took the focus away from what was arguably the Red Devils’ most complete performance of the season to date, as Ronaldo headed down the tunnel alone before the full-time whistle.
Ronaldo has now been withdrawn from the team ahead of their Premier League clash away at Chelsea on Saturday, with The Athletic claiming that the Portugal captain has been asked to train alone.
A statement on the club website read: “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.”
Ronaldo has sought to diffuse the situation with a statement on Instagram, but is has done little to soften the stance from his manager.
Ten Hag offered further clarity behind the decision to drop Ronaldo in his pre-match press conference, highlighting the incident when Ronaldo and a few other United players also left Old Trafford early during a pre-season friendly with Rayo Vallecano.
He said: “How we look at it is I'm the manager, I'm responsible for the top-spot culture here and I have to control the standards and values.
“We are a team, and in a team, we have standards and values. I have to control them, so after Rayo Vallecano, I said it was unacceptable but he wasn't the only one. That was for everyone, and I said that there will be consequences if it happened a second time.
“That is what we did, so we will miss him not being in the squad. But I think it is important for the mentality and the group. Now we have to focus on Chelsea, and that is the most important thing.”
Ronaldo was unable to force a move away from United during the summer and has made a slow start to this season, scoring only twice in 12 appearances across all competitions.
He scored his 700th club career goal in a 2-1 win away at Everton on October 9, with many lavishing the 37-year-old with praise during the aftermath of that game.
However, the feeling towards Ronaldo has turned sour again as they head into a huge Premier League tussle against the Blues without him.
United currently sit fifth in the Premier League table and would leapfrog Graham Potter’s side into the top four with a victory on Saturday.
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