Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has had problems trying to fit Cristiano Ronaldo into his team since his summer appointment and has been accused by Paddy Kenny of disrespecting the Portugal star and five other Manchester United players after Sunday\u2019s 6-3 defeat to Manchester City.<\/p>\n
The Red Devils were out-classed, out-manouvered and out-played by their fierce rivals in every department at the Etihad Stadium in their Premier League derby clash, with Phil Foden and Erling Haaland\u00a0both standing tall, notching blistering hat-tricks for the hosts, while Antony and Anthony Martial netted consolations for the frazzled visitors.<\/p>\n
United \u2013 down 4-0 by half-time \u2013 were severely chastened on an afternoon that clearly showed the vast chasm between the two Manchester rivals. Despite Antony and Martial\u2019s efforts pegging back their rivals in the closing stages, what had started off as a hopeful, pleasant afternoon had evolved into a grim nightmare for Ten Hag and his side.<\/p>\n
The Red Devils mustered up every resource to pursue the game by bringing on Martial, Fred, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw and Casemiro, with Ronaldo being the clear omission on the bench for the entirety of the game. Later, when queried with Ten Hag saying that decision was due to \u2018respect\u2019 for the 37-year-old\u2019s \u2018great career\u2019.<\/p>\n
Now, Kenny has taken Ten Hag to task for those comments, accusing him of \u2018disrespecting\u2019 the Portugal international and other players he\u2019s brought on in the latter stages of the second half.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo come out and say he did not bring him off the bench as a sign of respect\u2026 What a load of rubbish that is,\u201d he told Football Insider.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that say about the other players that you do bring on? Are you not bothered about them?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a comment that was. I could not believe it when I heard it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy that logic, you are disrespecting the other players you brought on when it was 4-0. What a thing to come out of his mouth. Embarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ronaldo had served notice of his intention to leave United back in the summer transfer window.<\/p>\n
Having scored 24 goals across all competitions last term, he felt it was time to move on to a team who could offer him Champions League football and, sure enough, links to Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Napoli and Atletico Madrid all quickly arose, with the quartet seemingly able to offer him the appropriate grand stage to advance his Champions League football ambitions.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately in the end, none of the moves materialised and the Portugal ace was completely stumped.<\/p>\n
United had all the while insisted Ronaldo wouldn\u2019t be allowed to leave, with the Red Devils determined to keep hold of their most-prolific goalscorer, yet oddly in the short time since then, their ardor seems to have abated somewhat as demand for the 37-year-old\u2019s contributions on the pitch have been almost negligible.<\/p>\n
Having started just once in the Premier League, Ronaldo was clearly laboring in the 4-0 defeat to Brentford at the end of August. Oddly too, he’s instead been restricted to starts in the Europa League, where he\u2019s been deployed in matches with Real Sociedad and Sheriff.<\/p>\n
The imminent signs are currently pointing to the Portuguese center forward still trying to secure a move away from the club when the transfer window reopens in January.\u00a0And this time Ten Hag is reportedly willing to let the veteran go, especially now that he\u2019s got Martial and Marcus Rashford as options up top.<\/p>\n
Kenny isn’t the only one thinking United have treated Ronaldo and Casemiro poorly this season as former United defensive legend Rio Ferdinand is also in agreement.<\/p>\n
Speaking after the defeat to City, the former Red Devils star said: \u201cI think we will [see Ronaldo and Casemiro play], but I think it\u2019s the context of what games they\u2019re playing in \u2013 they could be playing midweek Europa game. That won\u2019t sit well with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019d be sitting there going, \u2018wow, I\u2019m like the Rumbelows Cup player right now, the Carabao Cup player\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the sub-plots to what Ten Hag has to deal with. This is what management is about, he\u2019s got to manage that type of player, that type of ego, the pride that comes with these types of players.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re not playing, you\u2019ll see a difference in the way they look at you now, and that\u2019s what you\u2019ve got to manage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t have those problems at Ajax with the players he had, he was very much in control, the master of the universe there.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere you\u2019ve got big egos to deal with and this is the task when you come to a top club.\u201d<\/p>\n
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