'Phenomenal' Ronaldo lauded after Everton milestone - before Man Utd collapse
A penny for Cristiano Ronaldo's thoughts as he took his place on the bench for Manchester United's last trip to Everton.
He was becoming increasingly marginalised. Erik ten Hag was laying down a marker early in his tenure. Ronaldo had started just one of United's first seven games. He'd come on five times and was left on the bench for the Manchester derby humiliation.
At Goodison Park in early October an injury to Anthony Martial after 29 minutes allowed Ronaldo to enter much earlier than planned. United were trailing but Antony levelled before Ronaldo was sent clear and finished past Jordan Pickford for the game's winner and his 700th club goal.
It was a landmark achievement and - despite accusations of his age, dwindling influence and playing style - Rio Ferdinand claimed his strike was further proof that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was "still delivering".
He said on BT Sport: "700 club goals, that is more than I have appearances probably almost as many as all of us in the studio [Joe Cole and Joleon Lescott] put together, almost. Phenomenal. He would have been hurting being on the bench before this game. He would have been sitting there thinking: 'I should be playing'. That is the answer. Ever a pro, no matter what age you are, he is still going out there with something to prove and he is delivering."
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It was another momentous occasion for Ronaldo, who was getting increasingly questioned as United began to pick up form without him. The season before, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, he'd been part of a team that had significantly declined.
Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench to score the winner at Goodison Park last term ((Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images))What few expected though was for his 700th club goal to be his last goal for United. Ten Hag had been accused of pushing Ronaldo towards the exit door, but even he anticipated that there would be more to come from the forward.
He said immediately after the contest: "That is really impressive when you score 700 goals. It's a huge performance, I'm really happy for him. I congratulate him on that performance and I'm also happy it's his first goal this season in the Premier League - he had to wait for it and I'm sure there will be more goals.
"I think every player needs it, even when you are the best in the world, you need it, you need the goals. And I worked with many goalscorers, especially them, they need goals in every season to have that feeling, to have the confirmation of their intuition. And once they have some goals, they come in the flow and games go easier. That will happen with him as well."
Cristiano Ronaldo's relationship with Erik ten Hag had become increasingly strained ((Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images))Ten Hag's prediction couldn't have been further from the truth. He fired a blank against Newcastle next time out and was then left on the bench for the loss at Tottenham, which led to another flashpoint as Ten Hag claimed Ronaldo had refused to come on.
The civil war at Old Trafford between the new manager and one of their greatest ever raged on. He was suspended for the draw at Chelsea and then played large roles in a win over West Ham and a loss to Aston Villa, for which he was named captain.
Ronaldo dominated the narrative around United's season, which had stuttered up until the World Cup break. The Portugal star would deliver his biggest - and final - blow in the aftermath of his side's late win at Fulham, which saw Alejandro Garnacho grab the headlines.
His infamous interview with Piers Morgan was teased online that night before airing the following day. His agenda was clear - defending his legacy, taking aim at Ten Hag and putting the spotlight on United's structural and internal negligence. All the while giving the club little option but to dismiss him - which they did shortly after.
The player's interview with Piers Morgan would spell the end of his time at Old Trafford (@PiersUncensored/Twitter)Ferdinand, one of Ronaldo's biggest defenders as he sat on the bench under Ten Hag, had gone from lauding the player to conceding his actions were indefensible in just 36 days.
He said on his 'Vibe with Five' podcast: "You can't sit here and defend that from Cristiano Ronaldo. Deep down and I know it for a fact, this has all been manufactured for one thing - and that's for him to leave the club. This love affair with Man United that Cristiano has had is over in my eyes.
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"I don't feel there's any way back, I don't feel the club will take him back and I don't think that he wants to come back. This is all manufactured for that reason. Up to this interview, I would defend him, and say the club have a big responsibility to communicate better."
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