Ten Hag tells Ronaldo to apologise or continue to be left out
Karan Tejwani
- 22 Oct 2022 09:30 BST
- 5 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo has been told he must apologise to his team or continue risk being left out of the Manchester United squad for the foreseeable future.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was unhappy in midweek and refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham, leaving storming down the tunnel during the game and leaving Old Trafford before full-time.
Ronaldo has been suspended from first-team training since and will miss this weekend’s match against Chelsea, as United look for more positive results.
READ: Ten Hag's handling of Ronaldo crisis shows Man Utd finally have the right manager
Now, according to The Telegraph, Erik ten Hag doesn’t want a repeat of this behaviour and wants Ronaldo to apologise for his actions before he is brought back into the first-team picture.
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This isn’t the first time Ronaldo has behaved this way this season, having done the same in a pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano back in July.
Ten Hag was asked how Ronaldo could return in his pre-match press conference, to which he said: “We will first talk. We set certain standards. That is for any player.
READ: Cristiano Ronaldo isn't helping himself in Man Utd transfer saga
“I think everyone understands that both [actions] are not acceptable so I don’t want to grade it [which is worse]. Both are not acceptable and that is why he gets some days off.
The Dutchman then concluded by saying the standards are the same for any player: “He has to live, like anyone else, along certain standards and the standards we set this season.”
“It is a difficult decision, it’s clear. But there has to be consequences for bad behaviour and when it is the second time.
“You can’t let it go, otherwise it will be miserable for the future. You have to take this measure. I don’t like it because I prefer the squad with Cristiano onboard.”
After the suspension, Ronaldo released a statement on Instagram, explaining his actions, but didn’t apologise in that post, and he will now have to do so in order to get back into the team.
