Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has slammed Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag for his treatment of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Erik ten Hag dropped Cristiano Ronaldo from the matchday squad for the game against Chelsea recently after the player refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham in the previous game and left the stadium before the match ended. The player was subsequently fined and reprimanded for his actions as well.
It seems that Graeme Souness is not happy with the newly-appointed Manchester United manager’s decision to punish Ronaldo, and he has now launched a scathing attack on ten Hag. The Liverpool legend claims that the Dutch tactician will be soon forgotten, but Ronaldo will remain one of the greatest to play the game.
He also added that the 37-year-old deserves special treatment because of what he has achieved in the game and his contributions towards Manchester United.
Souness said (h/t Tribal Football), “In five years, Ten Hag will be away from the club and nobody will talk about him and his spell as Manchester United ever again, but Ronaldo will always be remembered as arguably the greatest to have ever kicked a football. Does that give Ronaldo a pass? It does, in my opinion.”
The Portuguese international completed an emotional return to Old Trafford last season, and he hit the ground running. Ronaldo scored 24 goals across all competitions, but Manchester United struggled to achieve anything collectively.
Since then, Erik ten Hag has come in as their manager, and it seems that Ronaldo is not key part of his plans. The 37-year-old has been relegated to the role of a squad player and he is understandably unhappy at Manchester United.
It will be interesting to see if the player decides to leave the club in January in search of regular football. Ronaldo reportedly wanted to leave in the summer as well, but Manchester United were not ready to sell him.
He has been linked with a return to his boyhood club Sporting CP in recent months. Ronaldo is still capable of cutting it at the highest level, and leaving an elite league for Sporting would be a surprise. He is thought to be on the radar of MLS clubs as well.
Meanwhile, ten Hag’s decision to punish Ronaldo seems justified from a neutral’s point of view. Otherwise, it could set a dangerous precedent for other Manchester United players to follow. So the words by the Liverpool legend do not necessarily ring true.
