Erik ten Hag says Cristiano Ronaldo has to be prepared to be "judged" after the Manchester United manager disciplined him for his actions at the end of the Tottenham match.
Ronaldo has been omitted from the squad for Saturday's Premier League fixture against Chelsea after he refused to come on in the 2-0 home win over Spurs on Wednesday night and headed down the tunnel in the 90th minute. The 37-year-old arrived for training at United's Carrington complex at 8.30am on Friday morning along with Under-21 players but trained separately with fitness coaches.
Ronaldo is due to be reintegrated back into first-team training on Monday, although Ten Hag said he would speak with the forward about his preparations for the visit of FC Sheriff on Thursday.
Ten Hag had not spoken with Ronaldo at the time of his press conference on Friday morning but insisted he would have no issue conversing with the Portuguese. Ten Hag did not disclose why Ronaldo refused to emerge against Spurs and stressed that, although Ronaldo is rightly revered by United matchgoers, he has to be judged on his current form.
“I think it is justified because he has achieved a lot in his career," Ten Hag said of the adoration Ronaldo receives. "I don't have to mention. It is so brilliant.
"But he has to be aware that you get judged by the moment and how you are acting today. Especially in top sport, it is about today - it is not about age or about reputation.
"When you do top sport, you get judged by the moment and you act. That is normal. We have to be aware of it. Everyone has to be aware of it and not just Cristiano. We have to be aware of it as a team, as a manager and as a club.
“It is a difficult decision (to leave him out), it’s clear. But there have to be consequences for bad behaviour and when it is the second time you can’t let it go because otherwise it will be misty and miserable for the future. You have to take this measure. What I don’t like is I prefer the squad with Cristiano on board.
"The expectations of Man United are really high. The ambitions are really high. Our fans, all of our stakeholders, we expect results, so then you have to act along certain standards and you have to work every day on that.
"Cristiano is not in the squad but he’s training to keep himself fit to get ready for the next game after Chelsea (FC Sheriff)."
When Ten Hag was asked if Ronaldo would resume first-team training on Monday, he replied: "We will first talk. Will it be longer? I don’t think so, no. That is not my purpose. What I said is I don’t want to miss him. I want him to be in the squad and be involved for every game because he has an impact."
Ronaldo claimed in an Instagram post on Wednesday night "sometimes the heat of the moment gets the best of us", although he did not apologise for his refusal to come on.
United have backed Ten Hag's disciplining of Ronaldo whereas under former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, players were empowered as Jose Mourinho was undermined. A number of players then found Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to be "a soft touch" during his tenure.
“I don’t look back into the past. It is about today," Ten Hag added. "So when I got appointed, I talked with the directors about the culture, top sport culture, standards and that is why they appointed me.
"They did some background and we had talks about how I lead, what my personality is and how I do it in a strategic way and about my standards and leadership. That is what it is about.
"To get top sport culture and to set the highest standards, we have to live them. That is what we do at the moment. It is not something you can construct in a couple of weeks. It takes time.
"But I think you see it in our games and therefore I was really happy with our performance on Wednesday. We are setting high standards on the pitch and it reflects what we are constructing.”
"It’s not about [showing who's boss]. It’s about the club. I have to take decisions in the interests of the club and the team especially, that’s my job. It doesn’t matter who it is, the age or reputation. Also with my line-up, I have to pick the team which I think has the best chance to win.
“He (Ronaldo) has to live as anyone else along certain standards, like the standards we set this season. We set certain standards. That is for any player."
madrid_dna
245
-Lewa openly boycotted Bayern. -Messi made an interview about being unhappy at Barca & criticised club president. -Neymar skipped training for sister's birthday. -Mbappe demands he takes all pens & forced a move. Cristiano Ronaldo leaves OT 2 minutes early, the world goes crazy.
Tizcelmnot
90
He definitely is trying to show he is the boss. He said pre-season is so important since CR7 missed it, he could not be fit enough to be the starting 11. But Ericsen started as the 11 for his first game just joining the team for a few days. Many people blamed CR7 didn't press a lot. I wonder whether they had ever watched any game CR7 was playing. He runs and press a lot, much more than Sancho and Rashford. There are lot of examples showing that the coach eats his own word. Personally I really hope CR7 will leave MU next January. There is no future for staying.
tikdikmnsy
51
the coach is very very mad it doesn't make sense
Zuzcelopuy
16
I am beginning to like this coach, not because I don’t like Cr7 , but any true United fan will agree that the team has lacked discipline since Ferguson left. Once that culture is built, everything will fall in place
GioBoy
9
CR7 is not better than team... He didn't get those numerous achievements on his own, it was all team work that helped him. He has to respect that and think about the team. He owes apologies to his team mates... He should be an example to follow not the problem... I appreciate Ten Hag for the steps he took