"It's an absolute disgrace" - Cristiano Ronaldo gets ripped apart for his 'selfish act' in Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur clash
Former Manchester City defender Danny Mills has slammed Cristiano Ronaldo for his antics during Manchester United's Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur.
Ronaldo was named as a substitute for the Red Devils' encounter with Spurs at Old Trafford on Wednesday (October 19). Just minutes after United made their third substitution in the 87th minute, the Portuguese superstar walked down the tunnel even before the full-time whistle.
Mills, who was on punditry duty for Sky Sports, expressed his displeasure with Cristiano Ronaldo's decision. He criticized the veteran forward at full-time, saying (as quoted by Metro):
“It’s a little bit of a selfish act to go, ‘Oh actually I’m not involved,’ he knows full well that everybody’s going to see it. You know what it’s like at Old Trafford, you’ve got to walk all the way down the touchline, not just sneaking down at the halfway line. He knows everyone’s going to watch him.”
The former footballer believes the incident could take away from a massive result for Manchester United, who beat Tottenham 2-0 on the night:
“And I feel sorry for United now, and Ten Hag because that’s an outstanding result against a top side and all it’s going to be about is Ronaldo. It’s an absolute disgrace, I think it’s incredibly disrespectful to the team, to the manager, to the fans.”
Simply brilliant! ➕3️⃣
#MUFC || #MUNTOT
Mills concluded by opining that the legendary forward believes he is bigger than Manchester United, saying:
“They were winning 2-0, what complaint can he have? If they were losing 2-0, it still wouldn’t be right, but I would sort of understand it. He clearly thinks he’s bigger than the football club.”
The match against Spurs marked the second instance of Cristiano Ronaldo watching an entire Premier League game from the bench. The first instance came in United's 6-3 drubbing at the hands of Manchester City earlier this month.
"I will deal with that tomorrow" - Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag on Cristiano Ronaldo's early departure
Despite Manchester United's brilliant performance and victory over Tottenham Hotspur, Erik ten Hag inevitably had to field questions about Cristiano Ronaldo.
When asked about Ronaldo heading down the tunnel before full-time in his post-match interview, Ten Hag told Amazon Prime (as quoted by Metro):
“I’ve seen him. I didn’t speak to him after. I’ll deal with that tomorrow.”
#MUFC
Cristiano Ronaldo went down the tunnel at Old Trafford before final whistle. 🚨🔴 #MUFC
Erik ten Hag: “I will deal with that tomorrow, not today. We are now celebrating this victory”. https://t.co/Ll4raQovL8
The Red Devils manager's move to keep the prolific forward on the bench against Tottenham inevitably paid dividends.
Manchester United were excellent going forward and didn't score more goals just because of their lack of clinicality and some superb saves from Hugo Lloris.
While they were frustrated in the first half, Fred and Bruno Fernandes struck after the break to give them a crucial win.