Aheed Abrar
Cristiano Ronaldo regrets leaving stadium during Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur; felt he was provoked by Erik ten Hag
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed regret at leaving the stadium in the Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur. However, the Portuguese feels he was “provoked” by Erik ten Hag.
In October, Spurs visited Old Trafford and were beaten 2-0 by the Red Devils. It was one of our best performances under the new gaffer. Unfortunately, the win was somewhat overshadowed by the five-time Ballon d’Or winner storming down the tunnel before the full-time whistle.
Ronaldo was on the bench and Ten Hag planned to send him on in the final minutes of the game. However, the Portuguese star refused to come on before going down the tunnel.
Speaking to TalkTV (h/t Manchester Evening News), the 37-year-old is sorry about the incident. But he believes the gaffer should not have ordered him to play in the latter stages of the match.
“I will be honest with you, it’s something that I regret, to leave the stadium. Probably, or maybe no, I don’t know. It’s difficult to tell you 100 per cent but let’s say I regret [it], but in the same way I felt provoked by the coach.
“It is not allowed for a coach to put me in [for] three minutes in a game. Sorry, I’m not that kind of player. I know what I can give to the team.”
Consequently, Ronaldo was suspended for the trip to Stamford Bridge. He was made to train alone at Carrington a day before the game against Chelsea.
However, the Portuguese star was reintroduced into the team a few days later. And Ten Hag opted to give the five-time Ballon d’Or winner a run in the starting lineup.
The 37-year-old started three consecutive fixtures, which included West Ham United, Real Sociedad and Aston Villa. For the fixture against Unai Emery’s team at Villa Park, the forward was even handed the captain’s armband.
Unfortunately, Ronaldo has been underwhelming throughout the 2022/23 season. And it looked like the gaffer had extended an olive branch to the Portuguese star in recent weeks. Unfortunately, the interview with Piers Morgan has evidently made his stay in Manchester beyond January difficult.
More Manchester United News
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- Gary Neville believes Cristiano Ronaldo wanted a way out of Manchester United by doing Piers Morgan interview
- Liverpool midfielder Fabinho aims dig at Manchester United trio Casemiro, Fred and Antony
Now, it remains to be seen how the situation unfolds in the coming months. It will be interesting to see which club decides to take the superstar away from the Red Devils.
