Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has five clear rules he clearly set in place for all of his players, yet Cristiano Ronaldo has blatantly flouted one with total arrogance and disrespect.
The Portugal captain has chosen to transgress one of Ten Hag’s main rules by airing his displeasure with the manager and the club in an explosive public interview.
The 37-year-old forward – due to his own undoing for the major part – has allowed his ego to get the better of him repeatedly on various occasions in the new season and has hence endured a miserable campaign so far yet the recalcitrant star absolves himself from blame for that, as he spoke to Piers Morgan Uncensored and took well-aimed shots at various key figures within United’s hierarchy. The main targets lined up in Ronaldo’s turkey shoot included Ten Hag and Wayne Rooney.
Regarding the former, who appears to be a popular figure within the United squad, but clearly not in the eyes of Ronaldo, the Dutchman was roasted by the Portugal player, who did not hold back in his assessment of his gaffer.
“I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me. If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you,” United’s number seven admitted.
“If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.”
Besides being downright disrespectful, Ronaldo’s latest actions also fall foul of one of Ten Hag’s clearest rules he laid down from the moment he arrived at Old Trafford as the ex-Ajax boss has key codes of conduct he expects each of his players to adhere to.
This latest turn of events directly contravenes one of Ten Hag’s core principles and all eyes will now be on the United boss to see if he does anything in response while the wantaway striker conveniently throws the blame on all and sundry around him except on himself.
“I think the fans should know the truth,” Ronaldo claimed. “I want the best for the club. This is why I come to Manchester United.
“But you have some things inside that don’t help (us) reach the top level as City, Liverpool andeven now Arsenal… a club with this dimension should be top of the tree in my opinion and they are not unfortunately.”
Obviously he sees himself as being part of the solution but clearly does not identify himself as being an integral part of the problems with United currently languishing outsid the Champions League qualification places and 11 points adrift of league-leaders Arsenal despite their recent 2-1 win away at Fulham on Sunday afternoon.