Neil Warnock says he'd 'ruin' Cristiano Ronaldo's day off after Manchester United star stormed off before final whistle against Tottenham
Manchester United attacker Cristiano Ronaldo continues to attract criticism after storming off before the final whistle during the Red Devils' 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Former Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock has joined a host of footballing figures in slamming the Portuguese following the incident.
Cristiano Ronaldo was apparently not pleased with being sidelined from the game and made his feelings known by heading for the tunnel with four minutes still left to be played and Manchester United leading by two goals.
However, that behavior has backfired, with pundits taking turns to slam his antics after the game.
Cristiano Ronaldo went to the tunnel before the game ended against Tottenham 😬
(via @TelemundoSports)
https://t.co/nYwKlpKiSd
Speaking on talkSPORT, Neil Warnock explained that he would've hauled the Portuguese in for training on his day off to abandon his teammates if he was his manager.
“Two or three things really”, the former Sheffield United boss replied when asked for his opinion on what Erik Ten Hag should do to handle the situation.
“If it wasn’t Ronaldo, I would be tempted to say to his peers: ‘Look he’s got to go in January. Can I let him go now?! Can I send him home to Portugal now and we’ll get on with what we’ve got.’”
He continued:
“I think it’s actually helped Ten Hag, him doing that, because now he’s got sympathy and it can’t go wrong now. I think it was good for the manager – anybody but Ronaldo and I would have let him go home, I wouldn’t have talked to him last night.
“I wouldn’t have said a word, I would have praised the lads. How good they were and this is how we’ve gotta be. I would probably have just flippantly said to Ronaldo: ‘I’ll see you in the morning at 10’, if it’s his day off hopefully, so it ruins his day off.
“That’s what I would have done.”
🗣 "All they're going to talk about after this game is Cristiano Ronaldo."
🗣 "It's incredibly disrespectful."
The Soccer Special panel on Cristiano Ronaldo leaving the bench before the full-time whistle https://t.co/OmcZu8pbAn
With Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, Manchester United put up an impressive performance against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. The Red Devils managed to come out on top with a 2-0 victory, courtesy of two second-half strikes from Fred and Bruno Fernandes.
Will Cristiano Ronaldo start for Manchester United this weekend?
After picking up all three points against Spurs, Manchester United will try to continue their winning run when they take on Chelsea in this weekend's most anticipated Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Meanwhile, it is unclear as to whether Cristiano Ronaldo will return to the starting line-up for the encounter. Judging by what we've witnessed so far, it doesn't look like the Portuguese will be able to play from the start as Erik Ten Hag doesn't seem to trust him to start important fixtures in the Premier League this season.