What Ronaldo must do to play for Man Utd again
FT Desk
- 24 Oct 2022 22:40 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo will have to show genuine regret over walking out on Manchester United if he hopes to play for the club again.
The striker caused a storm when he headed down the tunnel in the middle of United's 2-0 victory over Tottenham midweek.
He was subsequently omitted from the team that was held by Chelsea on Saturday as speculation over his future once more intensified.
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It is not the first time that Ronaldo has made an early exit under manager Erik ten Hag.
During pre-season the ex-Real Madrid and Juventus star departed at half-time after being taken off against Rayo, having missed almost the entirety of the Red Devils' summer preparation amid reports that he was actively looking for a transfer away from the club.
Ronaldo eventually stayed put, but has spent most of the season to date on the bench as Ten Hag prefers Marcus Rashford ahead of the veteran.
According to the Mirror, showdown talks between the star and manager were planned for Monday following his latest walkout.
Only if Ronaldo shows real remorse for his actions will Ten Hag consider picking him again, having told reporters that the 37-year-old and all of his squad must show "certain standards" in order to feature in his plans.
Ronaldo told to "Shut up"
The player's actions attracted criticism from across the footballing world, with former Liverpool and England man Glen Johnson urging him to keep quiet and show his boss respect.
"Respect is mutual," he told Midnite. "No player can do what they want, the team is more important than one player, I don't care who it is.
"Both Ten Hag and Ronaldo need to show respect to each other, of course, Ronaldo deserves respect for what he's done. But then he needs to respect his manager.
"If the team is winning, players who are not playing need to shut up, there's a time and a place when you're banging on the manager's door, and that's when you're not playing when the team is losing every week."
