Former Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan has denied the suggestion that there was ever any pressure put on the coaching staff to pick Cristiano Ronaldo last season.
Phelan worked under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick in 2021-22 before departing in the summer, while Ronaldo returned to the club last August.
Despite turning 37 during the season, Ronaldo still started 27 league matches last term, but it has been a different story this time around with the Portuguese starting just two of United's opening 10 top flight games under Erik Ten Hag.
Ten Hag has not been afraid to leave Ronaldo out, but Solskjaer and Rangnick were reluctant to do so. However, Phelan has insisted that neither manager felt they were forced to select Ronaldo in their team.
After being asked about whether there was pressure applied to pick Ronaldo, Phelan told Malaysian television station Astro SuperSport: 'No. No, not really, not to the point that it [the suggestion] was made.
'When I talk about the noise and the outside influences, then yes. There is a lot of talk about [him]. If Cristiano plays and he scores, Manchester United win. If he doesn’t play and we lose, then Cristiano should have played. That will always be there and you can’t avoid that.
'But, from our point of view, every manager and every coach talks only about winning the game of football. And how you are going to do that. That is the hardest thing. So you pick the best team and the best players to help you try to do that.'
Phelan's comments come after Ronaldo reacted angrily to being an unused substitute for United's 2-0 win against Tottenham on Wednesday.
The striker stormed down the tunnel before the final whistle at Old Trafford after being overlooked by Ten Hag.
This came just three days after he was visibly frustrated at being substituted during Sunday's goalless draw with Newcastle.
Ronaldo was also an unused substitute against Manchester City earlier this month, meaning he has failed to play a single minute in two league games already this season.
This did not happen at all last season when he was named in the matchday squad, as he only missed league matches due to injury or personal reasons.