Ronaldo made his view on Erik ten Hag perfectly clear after Spurs walkout
When Manchester United last played Tottenham at home, Cristiano Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel after he was as an unused substitute by manager Erik ten Hag.
United eased to a 2-0 victory over Antonio Conte's Spurs in October 2022 thanks to goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes, but Ronaldo stole the headlines. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner disappeared down the tunnel before full-time after Ten Hag hadn't brought him on.
Footage from Amazon Prime Video showed Ronaldo trotting across the touchline and looking over his shoulder as United managed the final couple of minutes. He then took off his bib and long-sleeved training top before heading back down to the home changing room.
After the match, Erik ten Hag admitted that he would "deal" with Ronaldo's outburst but downplayed the incident. "He was there, I have seen him but I didn't speak. I will deal with that tomorrow, not today.
"We're celebrating this victory and now we have to recover and another big game on Saturday, Chelsea. The Premier League, so exciting," Ten Hag told Amazon Prime at the time.
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Ten Hag decided to suspend Ronaldo for United's next game against Chelsea while ordering him to train with the club's Under 21s. The former Juventus and Real Madrid returned to the fold for the visit of Sherriff in the Europa League and scored in a comfortable 3-0 win for the Red Devils.
Despite being back in Ten Hag's squad, it looked inevitable that Ronaldo's second spell at United was coming to an end. The 39-year-old's exit was soon confirmed on November 22, 2022, after Ronaldo conducted an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, where the forward spoke about his time at the Red Devils.
Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United in November 2022 (Getty Images)Speaking to Morgan on Talk TV, Ronaldo opened up on when he stormed down the Old Trafford tunnel against Spurs. "You don't put me on against Manchester City because of respect for my career and you want to put me on for three minutes against Tottenham?" said Ronaldo.
"It doesn't make sense. I think he did it on purpose. I felt provoked not only because of that game, but before. He don't [sic] respect the way I should deserve. But it is what it is. This is why probably, the game against Tottenham, I left.
"The coach didn't have respect for me. So this is why the relationship is the way it is. He keeps saying in the press that he came to me and he likes me blah, blah, blah but that it's only for the press, 100 per cent. If you don't have respect for me, I'm never going to have respect for you."
Ronaldo signed for Al-Nassr following his exit from United but couldn't make his debut until three weeks after his arrival. This was because he served a two-match suspension for knocking a phone out of an Everton fan's hand during United's 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park in April 2022. However, Ronaldo has impressed since his move to Al-Nassr, scoring 44 goals in 50 appearances.
As for United, they take on Tottenham on Sunday as Ten Hag's men look to close the gap on the Champions League places. The Red Devils currently sit eighth, eight points behind Spurs in fifth.
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