Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham not for sporting reasons but after storming down the tunnel and leaving Old Trafford before the final whistle.
The Portuguese international was an unused substitute in Manchester United’s 2-0 win against Tottenham as Erik Ten Hag opted for a front three of Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, and Antony.
The five-time Balon d’Or winner was close to leaving Manchester United in the summer, has started only two Premier League games this season.
However, Rio Ferdinand revealed that maybe Erik Ten Hag was resting Ronaldo for the Chelsea game. He added that Ten Hag should let Ronaldo leave in January if he intends to use him like that.
What did Rio Ferdinand say?
Asked about Ronaldo’s lack of playing time this season, Rio Ferdinand said on Vibe with Five: “My only thought could be that Cristiano Ronaldo is being saved for the weekend against Chelsea.
“That’s the only way that I see it, logically, that he did not play [last night]. I think Ronaldo will be absolutely fuming with that, naturally.
“I wouldn’t expect anything different from him. I think the big problem Erik ten Hag has got is that coming up to this next window, he has to think very carefully about what he does.
“If he doesn’t see Ronaldo as a starter in his team more often than not, I think he has to release him from his contract.
“He has to let him go. It’s not fair on anybody, on the club, on Ronaldo, on Ten Hag, that the first question after every game is ‘Why didn’t Ronaldo start?’
“That will be a story. United won 2-0 and the leading story will be about Ronaldo. That can’t be right.
“You sit here and think why did Man Utd not just let him go if Ten Hag knew he didn’t want Ronaldo in his plans? That’s the baffling thing for me.
“You think what he’s done in his career… at his level… surely the manager would have known before the season started if he was going to play Ronaldo or not if he wanted him in his team if he was someone to build around.
“It looks to me right now that it was a no [he didn’t want Ronaldo]. If that’s the case, he should have let Ronaldo go.
“It’s going to be something that hampers Ten Hag going forward until the day Ronaldo leaves the club, because of how much of an icon and superstar he is.”
