Is this the end of CR7’s United career? After walking out of United’s 2-0 win over Spurs, Erik ten Hag has officially SUSPENDED Cristiano Ronaldo from even attending United’s game against Chelsea this weekend.
Obviously, what Cristiano Ronaldo did yesterday was unacceptable and wrong. Even if you are the statistical greatest goal scorer who’s ever lived, a 5X Ballon d’Or winner, a 5X Champions League winner, and a 7X league title winner, that doesn’t give you the right to just ‘walk out’ of the stadium when the manager doesn’t select you.
And especially not when your own team is not only winning a game against a huge rival, but is also thrashing them off the park.
Instead of the headlines coming out of the United Vs. Spurs game only being about the positive performance that the United team displayed, which I have to say I was competently shocked by how good they actually looked, it’s now “Ronaldo Walked Out”, “Ronaldo Vs. ten Hag”, or “Ronaldo Suspended”.
And even though I dislike these headlines being used to describe the game, I can’t argue with them. That’s how it should be perceived.
It does look like a battle between Erik ten Hag and Cristiano Ronaldo is brewing. Ronaldo did walk out of the game against Spurs. And CR7 is now suspended by Erik ten Hag and the United hierarchy for the club’s all-important rivalry game against Chelsea this Sunday. Whether Ronaldo wanted this controversy around him or not, he has it. And it seems that this is probably the finally straw in this ‘Will Ronaldo-Won’t Ronaldo’ stay dilemma.
Unless Cristiano Ronaldo does a complete 180 and accepts his place as a squad player of Erik ten Hag, I don’t see how Ronaldo has a place in this United team. Not only has Ronaldo’s play been completely below par this season (compared to his fantastic heights of the past), but the United team as a whole seems to play better when he’s not the main focal point up top.
Now, I’m not saying that all of United’s struggles these past two seasons have been down to Ronaldo as that would be wrong and unjustified. Yet, I am saying that United’s lack of goals is down to CR7’s inability to finish at his normal level.
How many times has Ronaldo had a chance in front of goal this season but has either missed the target or taken way too long to shoot, which gave the defending team that split second needed to catch up with him? 15 times? 20? At the end of the day, whether it’s down to low confidence or Father Time catching up with him, Ronaldo has not been as sharp in front of goal as was last season, let alone his nearly 20-year professional career.
Thus, for the best of both parties, it saddens me to say that Ronaldo should just go after the World Cup. Manchester United desperately need a striker who’s pacy, quick, and sharp in front of goal (which you can’t say about Ronaldo this season), while CR7 needs a new environment to get his form back. A divorce is probably the best course of action at this point.
What a sad state Ronaldo’s glorious return to Manchester United has divulged into.
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