"Clearly not the King" - Twitter reacts to Cristiano Ronaldo benching against Liverpool

FT Desk

• 22 Aug 2022 14:35 CDT
• 5 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo was benched for Manchester United's meeting with Liverpool on Monday night, sending the Twittersphere into a frenzy.

Ronaldo has cut a frustrated and indeed disruptive figure since Erik ten Hag arrived as coach, missing most of pre-season and acting out of line once he was back in action.

United suffered a disheartening 4-0 defeat at Brentford last Saturday, and although Ronaldo got the 90 minutes, he snubbed his manager on the way back to the dressing room at full-time.

Rock-bottom of the Premier League before they welcomed great rivals Liverpool to Old Trafford, the pressure was beginning to mount on Ten Hag.

Casemiro was presented as the latest signing before kick-off, but Ten Hag put his reputation on the line by keeping his former Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo on the subs' bench, alongside club captain Harry Maguire.

Ronaldo seemed to be in good spirits, coming across to greet his former United teammates Gary Neville and Roy Keane - whilst ignoring former Liverpool man Jamie Carragher - and the fans were just as mixed in their reactions.