Cristiano Ronaldo’s behaviour this week has dominated headlines and the forward is facing a make-or-break moment in his career as his future at Old Trafford hangs in the balance.
Ronaldo walked off the pitch against Tottenham several minutes from the full-time whistle and as a result, he has been excluded from the squad that will face Chelsea on Saturday and is now training on his own, with Erik ten Hag removing him from first-team training.
Speaking ahead of the mouthwatering clash against Chelsea, Ten Hag was asked about the situation and the Dutchman insisted that he is responsible for setting the highest possible standards at the club.
🗣 "It's unacceptable but he wasn't the only one."
Erik ten Hag on why Cristiano Ronaldo has been dropped for the Chelsea game this weekend pic.twitter.com/JzdMBhqx0Q
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 21, 2022
“I’m the manager, I’m responsible for the top sport culture here,” Ten Hag told Football Daily, as seen above. “I have to set standards and values and I have to control them.
“We are a team, in a team we have standards and values and I have to control that. After Rayo Vallecano, it was unacceptable but he wasn’t the only one. But that was for everyone.
“The second time, that will have consequences and that is now what we did. We will miss him tomorrow, that is a miss for us, the squad. I think it’s important for the attitude, the mentality for the group. Now we have to focus on Chelsea, that is the most important.”
Ten Hag did not offer an update on when Ronaldo could be back in the squad but as things stand, it’s looking highly unlikely that he will play a leading role for the rest of the season.
