Man Utd stars want Cristiano Ronaldo out - here's why
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 23 May 2023 08:46 CDT
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo is wanted out of Manchester United by a significant portion of the Old Trafford dressing room, The Sun reports.
Ronaldo has been pushing to leave Man Utd publicly since the beginning of pre-season, when he failed to show up for training and subsequently missed the tour of Thailand and Australia.
He has been back working with the squad for a couple of weeks but was short of fitness to feature from the outset in Sunday’s Premier League opener against Brighton – a match that the Red Devils lost 2-1.
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Ronaldo’s influence in the dressing room, though, increasingly appears to be a toxic one and the Sun quotes an unnamed Man Utd source stating: “It is really starting to annoy a lot of players now.
“He does have his allies in the camp but a lot are fed up with how he is going about things.”
Ronaldo providing an unwelcome sideshow
The Portuguese is overshadowing much of what new manager Erik ten Hag is trying to achieve at the club and has proved to be an unwelcome distraction during the transfer window, in which Man Utd have failed to land the majority of their major targets.
Indeed, the sideshow hit a high when Ten Hag branded Ronaldo’s behaviour “unacceptable” when he left a pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano before full-time. Although the Dutchman subsequently indicated that this dig was not just aimed at the Portuguese, it was evident that tensions behind the scenes are already strained.
Earlier in pre-season, meanwhile, Man Utd club captain Harry Maguire was seen to ‘like’ an Instagram post that suggested Ronaldo’s behaviour is unprofessional and should see him leave the club.
Manchester United’s stance is that Ronaldo will not be sold, but this only appears to have frustrated the Portuguese star further as he seeks the opportunity to play Champions League football.
