The coach of Manchester United, Erik ten Hag, has once again commented on the exclusion of Cristiano Ronaldo from the upcoming match with Chelsea. The Dutch coach confirmed media reports that CR7 refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham, and that is precisely why the Portuguese has been left out of the squad for Saturday's clash.
However, Ten Hag refused to comment further on the situation between him and Ronaldo, trying to keep the details of the conversation private. He said:
"This conversation is between me and Cristiano. The message is clear. But at the same time, he (Ronaldo) remains an important part of the team. I'm the coach, I'm responsible for the culture here. I have to set standards and values that I have to control. We are on a team."
Meanwhile, Ten Hag hinted that the incident was similar to what happened in the match against Rayo Vallecano in the Europa League, where Ronaldo was again seen angry. The United manager added:
"After the challenge with Rayo Vallecano it was unacceptable. But it wasn't just him (Ronaldo). The second time there should be consequences. This happened. Tomorrow Ronaldo will be absent, but I think it is important for the mentality and behavior of the team, and now we have to focus on Chelsea."
The actions of the Portuguese were criticized by many sports personalities, while CR7 himself said that he stole the moment of the game in the last minutes with Tottenham, but still did not apologize. Ten Hag meanwhile said that this is part of playing football at high levels, and that footballers should not be distracted by external noise or difficult situations. It remains to be seen if the Portuguese superstar will be able to win back the trust of the Ten Hag.
