As reported by the Daily Mail, Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo is all set to have crunch talks with Erik ten Hag today after the recent incident against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Red Devils missed the Portuguese striker against Chelsea as the manager made the call of taking strict action against the striker’s inappropriate behaviour.
It all happened against Tottenham Hotspur. As United was cruising to a comfortable against Tottenham Hotspur last week, the Portuguese attacker began heading towards the tunnel in the 90th minute with United leading 2-0 and two substitutes left despite there being five minutes of added time left to play.
Ronaldo clearly refused to come on and showed anger towards the manager’s call. He ultimately made his way out of the field by walking straight towards the dressing room. It was a sign of unprofessional behaviour by a player who has shown great passion towards the club in the past.
Following his half-time departure from the preseason friendly against Rayo Vallecano in July, it is the second occasion under Ten Hag that the Portugal international has departed early from a game.
On Thursday, Ronaldo was seen returning to Carrington and he was practising privately along with the coaches. He was then excluded from the squad facing the blues and Ten Hag later revealed that the striker is still in his plans.
Although the issues seem to be resolved, several pundits and fans were not happy with the striker’s situation at the club. While some have issued anger towards the lack of respect shown towards Ronaldo, others have shown frustration by the Portuguese star’s attitude towards the club.
Ten Hag will have the final decision in his hands and he should make a wise call on whether to keep hold of the striker or let him leave this January. The United board are already prepared to let Ronaldo leave this January as it will save them a significant amount of wages and prevent another dressing room dilemma.
Such an unprofessional attitude shown by the players is nothing new for the club as they have handled these situations in the past. Although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and others were unable to settle the tantrums thrown by Paul Pogba and other United players, Ten Hag has been ruthless when needed.
The manager will be having a private one-on-one talk with the striker to understand his state of mind and solve the matter accordingly.
