The Ronaldo flounce against Spurs was an opportunity to deal with him once and for all, but instead he was back in the team within a week. Here's twoht on CR7's 'punishment'...
It’s very easy to see why Cristiano Ronaldo behaves in the way in which he does. Since he was a teenager he’s been treated like a demigod, his every whim indulged, his every financial demand met, and usually without question.
, when he refused to come on as a substitute with a few minutes to play and then left Old Trafford before the rest of the team got back to the dressing room, he was exiled to train on his own and wasn’t selected for the squad to travel to Chelsea.with arguments so contorted that they stopped making much sense.
This is a question worth asking for several reasons. Firstly, what happened against Spurs wasn’t even the first time. During the summer, Ronaldo left Old Trafford before the end of a friendly match against Rayo Vallecano after having been substituted. Quite clearly, whatever was said to him about his behaviour didn’t sink in at that juncture.
It is true to say that Manchester United have improved considerably this season, but the health and mood of a squad of players can be a difficult set of plates to keep spinning. For any head coach man-management is an important quality to hold, with squads of players the majority of whom are not going to starting anything like every game.
And if that togetherness has been missing from Old Trafford for such a long time, if recovering it can prove to be difficult but also extremely valuable, it does rather feel as though Erik ten Hag has taken a bit of a misstep in allowing Ronaldo almost straight back into the first team.