Cristiano Ronaldo does not seem to be smoothly transitioning into his new role as a super-sub at Manchester United.
To be fair to him, it was never going to be easy for one of the all-time greats to go from the focal point of every team he’s played on for 15 years to a bench option. That transition is particularly tough right before his final World Cup where he still figures to be the focal point for Portugal.
On the other hand: He just left the field. And the entire stadium. In the middle of a game. That his team won.
It didn’t look great when Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel late in Wednesday’s game against Tottenham with United up 2-0. Especially because United actually had substitutions left to use.
Ronaldo's latest strop. Leaving the bench and heading down the tunnel with the game still going on. On an otherwise fantastic night for his team, has to find a way to make the story about him pic.twitter.com/ZOv9cuU4i3
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) October 19, 2022
And then it really didn’t look great when it emerged that Ronaldo didn’t merely leave the field but he just kept on walking until he left Old Trafford entirely.
Incredibly, this is not the first time Ronaldo has left the premises entirely this season, but at least the first instance happened during a preseason game.
“I have seen him yeah, but I didn’t speak to him after,” United head coach Erik ten Hag told Amazon Prime after the Spurs game. “I will deal with that tomorrow, not today. Today, we are celebrating this victory.”
It will be worth monitoring how, exactly, Ten Hag does go about dealing with his unhappy former superstar.
United hasn’t really needed Ronaldo this season, as the 37-year-old has started just two Premier League games and scored one goal. The Red Devils are fifth in the table after beating Spurs, after which The Athletic said: “Ronaldo’s early exit didn’t make a ripple in the home dressing room at Old Trafford as United’s players celebrated the win over Tottenham.”
Ronaldo tried very hard to engineer an exit this summer and couldn’t find a team to take him on. In the subsequent months he’s been unproductive on the field and shown a general unwillingness to be a team player. Not exactly the way to grease the market!
Now Ronaldo is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Ten Hag likely wouldn’t mind seeing the veteran depart, but he’ll instead have to continue finding a way to deal with a player who won’t hesitate to publicly show him up if he doesn’t get his way.
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