Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag spoke for the first time about the controversy with Cristiano Ronaldo this Friday, confirming that the Portuguese attacker refused to go into the final minutes of the Tottenham game, culminating in CR7’s departure from the lawn and onto way to the changing rooms earlier.
“Yes, it’s true, Cristiano Ronaldo refused to play against Tottenham, so there had to be consequences. It’s important for the attitude and mentality of the group,” the Dutch coach revealed at the launch of tomorrow’s game with Chelsea. Ronaldo was. removed for disciplinary reasons.
Ten Hague also confirmed to have had a private conversation with the player on Thursday, but did not disclose details: “This is between me and Ronaldo. The statement from the club is clear. But he remains an important player for the team.”
The Dutch coach recalled that this was not the first time Ronaldo, without permission, decided to leave the field on his own initiative, recalling a pre-season game against Rayo Vallecano, when he even left the stadium. “At that point I told him that behavior was unacceptable. Now it has happened a second time and there had to be consequences,” he said. The consequences include canceling tomorrow’s game against Chelsea and training alone, apart from his team-mates, something that has already happened this Friday.
“During this absence, he will have time to think. And everyone else will too. I am the coach, I am responsible for the environment and I have to set boundaries and set goals. In this team you have values and I have to “When you live and play together, in a collective modality, there are responsibilities. We will miss him tomorrow. It is unfortunate for the group, but it is important for the mentality of the group. Now we have to focus on Chelsea, that’s the most important thing,” said Ten Hag.
Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Carrington’s training center at 8.30am on Friday after being removed by the Manchester United coach and issuing a statement saying he would continue to work and support his team-mates. The player only trained with the physical trainers, although the initial information indicated that he would train with the under-21s.
CR7 was banned from meeting Chelsea after it left the field before the end of the game with Totttenham, in which it was not an option for coach Erik ten Hag. “Cristiano Ronaldo is not part of Manchester United’s squad for the Premier League game against Chelsea. The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that game,” the ‘red devils’ announced on Thursday.
Later, in a note posted on social media, Ronaldo did not apologize for the incident but justified his attitude with the “heat of the moment”. “Now I feel like I have to keep working hard at Carrington [o centro de treinos do clube em Manchester]support my teammates and be prepared for anything, whatever the game,” he added.
Source: DN
