Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag criticised for handling of Cristiano Ronaldo situation by Rio Ferdinand
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Updated 22/10/2022 at 11:44 GMT
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has called on Erik ten Hag to communicate better with his striker Cristiano Ronaldo after the 37-year-old reportedly refused to come on as a substitute during the 2-0 win over Tottenham. "There's always another side to the story," Ferdinand said. “Maybe communication hasn't been as clear as maybe he would have wanted."
Ten Hag confirms Ronaldo refused to play for Manchester United
Erik ten Hag’s communication skills have been called into question by Rio Ferdinand, who believes the Manchester United boss could have handled the situation with Cristiano Ronaldo better.
Ronaldo has come under intense scrutiny after he left Old Trafford before the final whistle as United overcame Tottenham in the Premier League on Wednesday.
Reports suggest that Ronaldo refused to enter the fray when told to. As a result, the Portugal international has been dropped from the squad that will play Chelsea on Saturday.
While Ferdinand stresses that the behaviour of his former team-mate was wrong, he believes that Ten Hag has lessons to learn going forward.
“I wouldn't have been happy as a player,” said Ferdinand on BT Sport.
“I would definitely have approached him. I would probably have been in the queue of people wanting to speak to about that decision.
“But I think there's two ways to look at, and I don't condone it for one moment, but there's always another side to the story.
“Maybe communication hasn't been as clear as maybe he would have wanted.
“You're dealing with someone like Cristiano Ronaldo, like it or not, he's Cristiano Ronaldo. Probably the greatest footballer to have ever played football along with [Lionel] Messi. So sometimes they are afforded a way of treatment a little bit different to everybody else. It was the same when he was there under Fergie [Alex Ferguson].
“I think all the way through his career he’s probably had that communication - how your minutes are going to look, how the games are going to look. And I think he's at the first point in his life where that's probably not upheld from the manager, or the club.
“He’s in a position where well, ‘I don’t know where I’m at".
This opinion was echoed by former Liverpool goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis.
“I don't think he's [Ten Hag] dealt with it really well because I think it could have been prevented,” she said.
“A manager is there obviously to prepare the team for matchday but to manage personalities as well.
“And if he couldn't foresee Ronaldo being unhappy with not being on the bench, with not knowing where he is, not knowing his status within the squad, then I think that's something Ten Hag will learn from.”
Former England international Peter Crouch leapt to the defence of the Manchester United boss.
“It's the manager's prerogative who plays and who doesn't - it's not the player’s prerogative. No player could sit on the side and say ‘I'm not coming on, that's it’. I don’t care who you are.
“Cristiano Ronaldo's one of the best players we've ever seen play the game, but you're a player at the end of the day.
“You have a manager and a board in place, who makes decisions about who plays on the field.”
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Ronaldo arrives for training to begin first team exile after tunnel incident
However, like Alan Shearer, Crouch has reserved some sympathy for the 37-year-old Ronaldo.
“It must be incredibly difficult for him to be sitting there being a player that every manager always turns to to get goals to win matches and to sit there and not be a part of it.”
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