According to Graeme Souness, Erik ten Hag’s handling of the Cristiano Ronaldo scandal has created a “huge crisis” at Manchester United.
After Ronaldo declined to enter the game against Tottenham in the Premier League last week and left the stadium early, Ten Hag banned him from United’s first team.
It is unknown if Ronaldo will be considered for selection for his team’s games against Sheriff and West Ham this week. He did not travel with his teammates for Saturday’s match against Chelsea.
The 37-year-old has received harsh criticism for his actions, but former Manchester United captain Roy Keane defended him this past weekend, saying that several other United players had behaved worse in the past.
According to Souness, who agrees with Keane’s appraisal of the situation, Ronaldo deserves a “pass” because he is a legend at Old Trafford and one of the all-time great players.
The Liverpool great also thinks Ten Hag “shot himself in the foot” by making Ronaldo “unhappy” and causing a “big problem.”
Souness said of Ronaldo: “He will always be known as possibly the greatest player to ever kick a football. Ten Hag will be gone from the club in five years, and nobody will ever talk about him and his time as Manchester United again.
Does that excuse Ronaldo? In my view, it does.
“This is Ronaldo; he is one of the greats of the game; you have to be understanding and supportive of him.” If Ronaldo isn’t happy in your changing room, you know you have a big problem on your hands.
Let’s start from the beginning; Ronaldo announced his intention to quit before the season had even begun. I thus presume that the manager has sat in front of the player and informed him that he is not leaving and that he is wanted to remain.
I can assure you that Ronaldo would have said, “I want to play, that’s why I want to leave. I don’t play nearly enough.
The manager’s approach would have therefore been to do something to appease Ronaldo so that he could stay.
“I’m off, this is not for me anymore,” Ronaldo might simply remark. It’s not necessary for Ronaldo to be at Manchester United. That is true. Ronaldo must have heard the manager’s comments because they convinced him to stay at Man United.
The manager of Man City responded, “Out of respect,” when asked why he didn’t start Ronaldo in the game when they were down 6-3.
A few weeks later, he requests that he continue playing for the final two minutes of a game in which they are ahead 2-0.
I believe Manchester United created this issue for themselves. They are the ones who have injured themselves.
Ten Hag must have said something to convince the player to stay despite the fact that he knew he wouldn’t utilize him frequently. You must not disregard that.
“I believe what Ronaldo did was terrible.” I understand his decision to stay off, but I don’t support it. I’m trying to convey that there must be a good cause for that. It must have started with the talk with Ten Hag at the beginning of the season.