Cristiano Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute for Manchester United in their 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League, United manager Erik ten Hag revealed on Friday.
The Portuguese striker headed to the dressing room before the final whistle of Wednesday’s match at Old Trafford in a show of dissent and has since been dropped from United’s squad for Saturday’s visit to Chelsea.
Ten Hag spoke to Cristiano on Friday and noted that the 37-year-old striker “remains an important part of the team”.
However, Ten Hag said Cristiano must be disciplined for the good of the culture within the club. The coach had previously criticized the player and some of his team-mates for abandoning a pre-season friendly game against Rayo Vallecano in early July.
“I have to set standards and values and control them,” Ten Hag said.
“I posted a warning at the start of the season and next time there have to be consequences. Otherwise, when they live together, when they play together – and football is a team sport – they have to meet certain standards and I have to control it.”
Cristiano took to social media on Thursday night to explain his behavior at the Tottenham match.
“I have always tried to set an example myself for the young people who grew up in all the teams I have represented,” he wrote on Instagram. “Unfortunately, that is not always possible and sometimes the situation (gets) the best of us.”
Cristiano trained away from the team on Friday.
